Lover's Walk: A Chronicle
by Kelcviki
Summary: Narcissa and Lucius, an epic story of disdain, hate, lust, passion and love.  I am not very good at summaries.  Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip." – Jonathan Carroll

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><p>Narcissa Black was in a foul mood the morning or September 1st; she had been packed for weeks but checking her trunk she knew things were missing. The walk to her older sister's bedroom seemed longer than usual and it filled the eleven year old with apprehension.<p>

"Bella, were you in my trunk?" Narcissa felt apprehensive about asking her older sister, one never knew how the volatile girl would react.

"What? You think I took some of your things? Why would I want your stuff?" Her sister gave a cold look that could curdle fresh milk.

"Well, I didn't know. Some of my stuff is missing and I…" She stammered trying not to make eye contact with the fierce dark eyes of her sister.

"I'm messing with you, laugh a little bit. You don't want to introduce Hogwarts to the stammering ice queen. I couldn't find some of my shirts and I knew you had a lot so I took a few."

"Bella those aren't yours, they won't even fit right." The stammer was replaced by a cold hard voice.

"Lighten up Cissy," Bellatrix lounged back on her bed, "You'll never make friends if you're so unpleasant." Her voice took on a sing song tone as she flipped through a magazine from her dark mahogany nightstand.

"Just give me my clothes so I can leave and finish packing. We need to get going. I will not miss this train." Bellatrix sighed and tossed a few white shirts at Narcissa.

"You wrinkled my shirts. You're impossible!" Narcissa seethed as she stormed from her eldest sisters room fuming. She knew that there was no way this day could get any better. If a day started on a sour note, it would most likely end on a sour note as well.

Side-Along Apparation was a miserable way to travel. It messes up ones hair and gives them an awfully upset stomach. The scarlet train was a sight for most first years, but Narcissa had seen it three times seeing off her sisters. Bellatrix was in her third year, Andromeda in her second. As Narcissa secured a compartment far away from her sisters a sense of dread filled her stomach, she wished she could've just been homeschooled instead.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go to Hogwarts, well actually that was exactly the problem, she couldn't wait to get out of the house. She was tired of being babied by her parents, even at eleven all she wanted was her independence. Now that it was here, that she was actually on the train, she couldn't be more nervous. What house would she be sorted into? She would just die if she ended up in Hufflepuff. Usually, reading a good book helped but now even that wasn't calming her nerves.

"Is anyone going to be sitting here?" The girl who spoke was a mousy looking girl with lank brown hair and pale celery colored eyes, "My name is Violet, Violet Parkinson, it's nice to meet you."

She regarded the mousy girl's hand with mixed feelings, she usually didn't shake hands. She sucked it up and shook her hand, she wanted to make some friends and people didn't usually take too kindly to ignored handshakes.

"My name is Narcissa Black, a pleasure to meet you Violet." Violet unceremoniously plopped herself into a seat and began chattering away.

"I'm so excited to finally go to Hogwarts; I have wanted to go for a super long time. What house do you think you'll be in? I want to be in Ravenclaw, I think I have the smarts for it but you never can tell, can you?"

"Mmmm…" Narcissa pretended to be interested but she really hadn't heard a word that Violet said, she was too busy looking out the window. The sky had gone from a crisp blue to a dark grey with ominous clouds and lighting flashes ahead. This weather had to be some sort of omen.

"You girls should get your robes on; we'll be arriving at the school soon," a well-meaning prefect walking by let the two young girls know. The girls dressed in silence and the train slowed to a gentle stop, with the absence of the noise of the train the sound of the torrent of rain became incredibly loud. The noise was so encompassing that Narcissa could barely hear a gruff voice calling for the first years.

"We have to ride the boats, in the rain? We'll freeze to death," Violet whined trying to cover her hair. Narcissa gave her a look and rolled her eyes, a little rain never killed anyone. A wet boat ride later all of the first years were crowded in the antechamber of the great hall; most people were shivering and apprehensively waiting, not knowing what was going to happen next.

Professor McGonagall explained that she would be calling each student up and placing the sorting hat on their head and it would decide which house they would be a part of. She led the children into the Great Hall and started calling the students up alphabetically.

"Black, Narcissa," Professor McGonagall called out crisply. Narcissa walked to the stool and primly sat down, smoothing her skirt as she sat. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her smooth platinum hair and the Sorting Hat went to work.

"A great mind and a thirst for knowledge would do you well in Ravenclaw, but your shrewdness, determination, and ambition would be great in Slytherin. You would do great in any house, but better be… SLYTHERIN!" Narcissa sighed in relief and walked proudly to her house table. She could see the beaming faces of her sisters; she sat down and turned to watch the rest of the sorting, but not before seeing a boy with long white blond hair staring at her with piercing grey eyes. When the sorting was over and Narcissa was lying in her bed she couldn't get those eyes out of her head.

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><p>AN: So, this is my first chapter of my first ever fan fiction. Reviews are appreciated, and if you have any suggestions on how I can make this better I would love to hear them! Thank you all readers, if any, and there will be more chapters to come.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: In my first chapter I forgot to mention that I claim none of these characters as my own, they are all the work of the astounding J.K. Rowling. I did, and will, be adding first names to the characters we know little about. I will be going as close as I can to what is known in the books. Thank you for reading, love to you all!

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><p>"Some people can't tell when they're annoying, which is even more annoying." - Unknown<p>

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><p>Her first few months at Hogwarts were inconsequential. Violet had been made a Slytherin as well, so they spent a lot of time together, Narcissa doing homework and Violet chatting about boys. Narcissa did well in all of her classes; she was even the favorite student of many of her teachers. Narcissa wrote home all the time, much more dutifully than her sisters, she had always been her father's little girl and school hadn't changed that fact. She was just going through a package her father sent her, mostly books but he sent her sweets as well.<p>

"What are you up to, Cissa?" Violet chirped as she dropped herself next to Narcissa on the common room couch.

"Opening a package," Narcissa sighed looking up at Violet. The girl may have been Narcissa's only friend at Hogwarts so far, but that didn't stop her from being incredibly annoying.

"Coolness, who's it from?" Violet beamed brightly, with real interest.

"It is from my father," Narcissa said curtly. She slipped the lid on the box and made her way to her dormitory to put the books away. Violet trailed after her chattering about that evening's homework.

"So, like, do you understand what our essay in Potions is supposed to be about? I know the Professor Slughorn went over it, but it just makes no sense to me at all," Violet whined, looking at the parchment she held in her hand with a mix of confusion and disdain.

"Violet, it is really simple. All he wants is a short essay on the properties of Moonstone, read your book and you should be able to find them quite easily. Now if you don't mind I'm going to go to bed, I have had a long day and I am tired. Goodnight." With that Narcissa turned her back on her friend and started getting ready for bed. After she made herself ready for sleep and getting in her cozy, soft bed she couldn't fall asleep, she knew that lying to her friend and going to bed before nine o'clock was the reason. Narcissa wasn't what you would call a "people person" she knew how to make polite conversation and small talk, but she wasn't a fan of getting really close and gabbing about boys. She was a truly solitary person, even when she was young she stayed inside reading or knitting rather than romping outside with her sisters or other children that came over when their parents came for dinner.

After a restless night of sleep, Narcissa strolled down to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was early so there weren't many students already down; she took a solitary seat at the end of the table and helped herself to a bowl of oatmeal and a fresh red apple, when he sat down across from her.

"Good morning," he said smoothly and popped a piece of blueberry scone in his mouth, "How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine," Narcissa said icily staring down the blonde.

"My name is Lucius Malfoy, do you mind if I sit here? I noticed you were alone and thought you might want some company," Narcissa almost scoffed. Like anyone didn't know who Lucius Malfoy was, even as a second year he had a reputation of being a stuck up jerk. Even without that reputation, she had known him from a young age as their parents always invited the Malfoy's to their annual Christmas Eve ball. Now he tries to act as if he doesn't know her, he was unbelievable!

"Narcissa Black, pleasure to meet you," she said staring down at her oatmeal, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of indulging his ulterior motives. She ate the rest of her breakfast in almost absolute silence, only adding a few "oh's" and "yes's" and "mmm's." This became a daily ritual for the two of them, much to Narcissa's dismay. She even tried changing her morning ritual, going earlier to breakfast and later, but every single day without fail he would be sitting across from her talking about trivial nonsense. One day, she and Violet were sitting on their beds, the greenish glow from the Black Lake giving their room an eerie glow.

"So is he like, your boyfriend or something?" Violet asked flipping through Witch Weekly.

"Who?" Narcissa asked while rolling up her hair for some loose curls for the next day.

"You know who, Lucius!" she giggled, "How would I look as a blonde?" she asked studying a picture of some famous witch with long blonde hair.

"Ugh, you would look terrible; your skin has a yellow undertone," Narcissa said, "And, no he is not my boyfriend, the bane of my existence maybe, but not my boyfriend."

"Hmmm, are you sure?" Violet inquired sitting up to look at her friend.

"Yes, I am positive he is not my boyfriend. He is an arrogant jerk, and I want nothing to do with him! It isn't my fault that he sits with me at breakfast!" Narcissa's voice started to go shrill and their other dorm mates looked over at her.

"Oh my god, chill out, I was talking about me going blonde anyway. If you say he isn't your boyfriend I believe you," Violet put her magazine down and slid the curtains around her bed, "Goodnight, Cissa."

"Goodnight Vi," Narcissa spoke softly, almost a whisper. She was so terribly embarrassed! How could she have made a fool of herself like that, now Violet was sure to think that Narcissa was lying because of how intensely she denied the relationship. He really wasn't her boyfriend; she really was still annoyed by his very presence, but less than she had the first time he sat with her. Luckily, the Christmas holidays were very close and she wouldn't have to see him for at least two weeks. She would need that time to figure out ways to avoid Lucius, he was really starting to annoy her and Violet wasn't the only one asking questions. A few days previously, Bellatrix had come up to her asking the same question, well almost the same question, Bella's was worded a little more strongly.

_"What are you doing with that blonde bastard?" she had hissed at Narcissa in the common room, "If you tell me you are dating him I will be forced to slap your man whore's face." _

_ "Bella, calm yourself! I am not dating Lucius Malfoy; I do not want to date Lucius Malfoy. He is just a bothersome menace that won't leave me alone," Narcissa sighed. _

_ "Oh, good, do you want me to do anything about that? I could make him leave you alone for good," she said with a devilish grin on her face. _

At the time Narcissa said no, but now she wasn't too sure, it would have alleviated all the raised eyebrows and unasked questions. Fortunately for Narcissa, the next day was the day that everyone who was going home for the holidays left, meaning that she wouldn't have to endure Lucius' bothersome presence for a very long time.

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><p>AN: So, school for me starts tomorrow. This means that I may be able to update daily, but that is unlikely. However, I will try as hard as possible to update at least once a week. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

"Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind." -Unknown

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><p>The train ride home was uneventful; Narcissa spent most of the time looking out the window thinking about what to do over holiday. She had a pile of books waiting on her bedside table that her father wrote to her about, and she couldn't wait to read them. The only problem foreseeable was the annual Christmas Eve ball, the thought of it made her almost physically ill. Now that she was old enough to attend Hogwarts, she was old enough to attend the ball with all the adults rather than the casual dinner with the rest of the children. That meant two things: one, she would get to spend hours perfecting her hair and finding the perfect dress and two, she would have to see Lucius the entire evening. The first thing was spectacular, Narcissa loved a good up do and she already had the perfect idea for a gown. Lucius was the only problem, having to spend that much time with him would surely do her no good.<p>

"Cissy, come on. We're here," her sister Andromeda said gently, waking Narcissa out of her reverie. Andromeda was probably her favorite sister; she looked much like Bellatrix but her hair was more tamed and her eyes were less harsh and fierce, they were kind eyes.

"Oh, alright then," Narcissa whispered in a dazed voice, not knowing where the time of the train trip went. She hoisted her heavy trunk off of the shelf above her and made her way off the train. Seeing her parents, it was hard for her to hold her composure and not run straight into her father's arms. When she reached her parents, she threw herself into her father's arms while her eyes filled with tears; she had really missed her family.

"Father, mother," she respectfully spoke while embracing her mother, "It is a pleasure to see you again, how have you been?"

"We have been quite well, missing our daughters of course, but we have been kept busy by the preparations for the Ball. Speaking of that, girls we need to visit Diagon Alley to get your gowns made," Druella, the girl's mother, said while briskly walking trying to find an alleyway with no people so the family could disapparate.

"Mother, I wanted to talk to you about that, do I really have to go?" Narcissa asked grabbing her mother's arm to prepare for the disapparation.

"Yes, it will be your first year and I see no reason why you shouldn't be going, so you will be going," her mother replied curtly after spinning on the spot taking them to the Black family residence, "No more arguing. It is final."

Her mother just didn't understand, and Narcissa couldn't explain. If her mother got wind of the potential friendship with a Malfoy she would push it to no end. Narcissa may have been the only hope for one of Druella's daughters to make an appropriate match, Bellatrix was far too frightening and Andromeda was too much of a believer in doing things to make herself happy rather than doing things to please her family. Narcissa would have to just try to avoid him at all cost.

On December the 23 all of the Black ladies were in Madam Malkin's, being fitted for their dresses. Bellatrix kept trying to convince her mother to let her wear a fire engine red, backless gown. Druella was insistent that Bellatrix would never wear something like that to one of her Christmas Eve Ball's, so instead Bella decided on a deep violet gown with one sleeve and a corset back. Andromeda decided on a deep blue halter dress that flowed out from the bodice and pooled around her ankles. Druella decided to go with a classic high collared burgundy gown with ¾ sleeves. Narcissa had the most painstaking decision because it was her first ball, the first time she would be officially presented to the pureblood society. After many dresses in many colors she decided on a gown that would suit her age as well as her proper dressing style. It was off white chiffon with off the shoulder sleeves and asymmetrical ruffles flowing from her mid-thigh down.

"You look positively stunning my dear, an absolute vision," Druella sighed wiping tears from her eyes.

"Mother, you're acting like this is my wedding dress. I'm only 11, calm down," Narcissa sighed smoothing down the front of her dress and looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Christmas Eve was a hectic day, for the house elves at least. While the Black family members were in their respective chambers getting ready, their house elves were running to and fro arranging decorations, food, and ice sculptures. A simple French twist was all Narcissa did for her hair, and a pearled hair comb set it off quite nicely.

A majority of the ball went off without a hitch, it wasn't until late in the evening before things started to go downhill. Around 11 o'clock, Lucius found her and asked for a dance.

"Well, I don't know. My feet are awfully sore and-"before Narcissa could finish he grasped one of her hands and led her to the floor. Truthfully, he wasn't a bad dancer; he was well learned and knew how to lead, unlike most young men their age. Two dances later, he respectfully bowed and kissed her hand and left to go home with his family. Narcissa was truly surprised; she had actually had a wonderful evening.

When Narcissa was lying in her bed that evening, hair all undone and makeup all off, she thought about that evening. Her mind kept going back to Lucius and their three dances together; she could not get him out of her head. There was no way she was feeling what she was feeling, she could not have a crush on Lucius Malfoy.

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><p>AN: I crushed my foot falling onto my garage floor; I am a total klutz, so I couldn't go work out tonight meaning I could update my story. Yay! Thank you all for your reviews and a special shout out to EleKat with perhaps the fastest review ever!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So this is going to be a really short chapter. I want to do a little bit of a time jump, because I don't want the story to get too repetitive. This is a short chapter on Narcissa's feelings after the end of the last chapter. I hope you enjoy!

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><p>"From the deepest desires often comes the deadliest hate."~ Socrates<p>

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><p>Fortunately, Narcissa was able to seclude herself in her bedroom and she wouldn't have to see Lucius again for two weeks, unfortunately that meant she had two weeks to think about her feelings about Lucius. Just because he was a good dancer and had impeccable manners, didn't mean that he was any less annoying. Thinking back on it though was the fact that he insisted to sit next to her all the time actually annoying, or was it just really endearing.<p>

"Ugh," she sighed punching the lavender satin encased pillow, "This isn't fair," she grumbled.

"What's not fair?" Andromeda asked opening Narcissa's door.

"Andy, what are you doing in here? Go away," Narcissa said turning over in her bed.

"Cissy, you haven't left your bedroom in a week, your hair is a mess. When was the last time you ate?" Andromeda said sitting down on one of Narcissa's chairs.

"I am fine; one of the house elves has been bringing me food. Will you please just go away?"

"No, I won't 'just go away' talk to me, tell me what's wrong" Andromeda said gently grabbing Narcissa's hand.

"It is nothing worth talking about, I will be fine," Narcissa said pulling the covers over her head. Andy left quietly and shut the door behind her, disappointed that there was nothing that she could do for her younger sister. Over the next few days Narcissa perked herself back up, coming down for meals and keeping her hair brushed and wearing clean unrumpled clothing. She pushed her feelings down until she couldn't feel them anymore; she thought she was in the clear.

On the day that the three girls were going back to Hogwarts, Narcissa could not be less happy. She was going back to Hogwarts, seeing her friend, and getting back to class. She really missed all the schoolwork and spell work. On Platform 9 and ¾, she was smiling even though she had to say goodbye to her parents again it just didn't seem like a big deal any longer. When she was getting on the train, she turned her head to say goodbye to her parents one more time. When she turned her head she stopped in her tracks. She saw that long silky blonde hair and cool grey eyes, and felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart started beating faster.

"Oh no," she whispered, her eyes widening. The feelings hadn't gone away at all.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So, TIME JUMP! I'm going a few years in the future. Narcissa is in her fourth year, meaning Bellatrix is in her sixth year and Andromeda and Lucius are in their fifth year. It is about a month before Christmas now. Enjoy! (I'll try to make up for the pitifully short last chapter)

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><p>I made a choice to finally let go, because I can't stand the pain, it's time for my last tear to fall and smile again. ~ Unknown<p>

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><p>"Hey Cissa! There is a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, come with me! We can get out dresses for the Black annual ball," Violet sang, "Also, remember, the Malfoy's are having some New Year's Eve Ball as well. We need dresses for that too!"<p>

"Ugh, I guess we have to, don't we? Is the Hogsmeade weekend this weekend? I need to tell my mom I will not be shopping with her," Narcissa sighed closing the book she was reading.

"Yup, this weekend! Write your mom an owl, right now. I won't let you bow out of this." Violet said pulling Narcissa's book away and handing her a piece of parchment and a quill. Narcissa made out the letter quickly, and Violet took it to the Owlery so Narcissa couldn't change her mind on the way to deliver the letter. Narcissa got up off of the plush couch in the common room and made her way down to breakfast, she couldn't put off breakfast much longer. As if on cue, Lucius appeared out of nowhere and at Narcissa's side.

"Good morning, how are you?" Lucius asked grinning and sliding his bag higher on his shoulder.

"Good morning Lucius, I am doing well. Just preparing for the holidays," she said with a smile.

"Great, did your family get the invitation for the Malfoy family's first annual New Year's Ball?" he asked with a chuckle, taking a seat across from Narcissa at the breakfast table.

"Yes, actually we did. Violet and I are getting our dresses this weekend, she is very excited," Narcissa said before taking a bite of toast.

"Hey, babe," a sultry voice said as the owner of the voice slid onto Lucius' lap. A curvaceous brunette that was mostly legs, named Celine, was Lucius' girl of the month. Narcissa had repressed her feelings about Lucius for so long, she no longer was bothered by the endless parade of Slytherin's Ravenclaw's and even the occasional Gryffindor that he dated for a few weeks and once he got what he wanted he would drop them and find a new whore. Narcissa was astounded that none of these girls knew his endgame, they saw the way he treated other girls but all of them thought that they would be the one to make Lucius Malfoy settle down. It was almost comical!

"Hey, Celine," he said scooting her off his lap and into a chair. He was not a fan of public displays of affection, but that never stopped this girl. This must have been the most brazen tart of all!

"Listen we need to talk," Lucius said looking Celine in the eyes. Narcissa walked away, she had seen that talk far too many times to watch it again, and this girl was a Slytherin so it was almost certain she would run to Narcissa for comfort. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last, the funniest thing was that she openly didn't like any of those girls and she didn't try to comfort any one of them and they all still came to her.

"Narcissa, can we talk for a bit," five minutes later a disheveled Celine with bloodshot eyes and gasping for breath came up to her in the common room.

"No, go away. I do not care about talking to you. You got yourself into this mess not you need to deal with it," Narcissa said coldly looking up into Celine's depressed eyes.

"I just thought, because you're his best friend, and I thought you could tell me why he did this out of the blue," she sobbed sitting down next to Narcissa and trying to put her arms around the petite blonde.

"No, get off of me;" Narcissa said incredulously laughing at Celine, "He probably was just bored of having sex with you." Narcissa got up and looked at Celine with pity, and shook her head while walking away. Some people just didn't get it.

Saturday of that week, Narcissa and Violet were in Hogsmeade getting their dresses. Violet chose a strange combination; one of her dresses was brown empire waist dress with one sleeve that had rosettes climbing up it, truthfully it was very ugly but her friend was fond of it, and the second dress was a strapless olive green gown with a beaded bodice. Narcissa feigned her excitement over her friend's dresses and hoped that she wore the green one to her own family's ball.

Narcissa, on the other hand, chose a stunning red strapless mermaid gown; the red stain bottom overlaid puffy white tulle with gold embellishments. That was her dress for the Black family Christmas Ball; her dress for the New Year's Ball was much different. It was a cream vintage gown with a scoop neck, the top of the dress and the sleeves were antique French lace and the dress cascaded from the bodice in lacy ruffles. The back of the dress was also lace from the small of her back up to the top of the dress; both dresses flattered her newly found figure but the lace dress gave her a classic, proper air.

The Christmas Ball was not very much different from normal, although with Lucius's new found singleness he danced with every eligible young woman in attendance. When Lucius and Narcissa were dancing their conversation consisted of trying to figure out who he would get next.

"Hmm... What about Rihanne?" Narcissa mused staring at a redhead in a black and silver ball gown.

"No, too tall and she wears high heels all the time. She wobbles everywhere," he chuckled spinning Narcissa around.

"You could always go for Bella, which would be very interesting. I would love to see how that would work out," Narcissa said giving Lucius a wry look.

"Oh god no, I would never do that to myself. She would probably end up castrating me; I'm surprised Rudolphus made it this long to be honest," Lucius said politely bowing at the end of their dance.

"Find a great girl, chat her up, and dance with her. For me," Narcissa said beaming at Lucius, and walking over to make polite conversation with her sister and her sister's flame.

The rest of the evening went by without much event; the last dance of the evening was shared again by Lucius and Narcissa.

"So you couldn't find anyone to take home tonight could you?" Narcissa asked with a grin.

"It's my fault for dating so many women," Lucius said smoothly.

"Girls."

"What?" Lucius asked with a confused expression.

"You have not been dating women, you have been dating girls. Women are people you introduce your parents to, girls are the people you are entertain yourself with," Narcissa said icily. She wasn't even remotely prepared for what happened next. Lucius pulled her in close and gently kissed her on the lips, his lips were soft and she noted that he vaguely tasted like peppermint. She pulled away with a dazed expression on her face and she had no idea what to do, so she calmly walked away and ran up the stairs into her bedroom. What had she just done? She got what she wanted; she finally had Lucius, so why did she leave?

New Year's Eve was her chance; she had made up her mind. She had realized that she ran away because she was confused, it was unexpected but she thought about it for hours and hours and each time it gave her butterflies. Her gown for New Year's was stunning; she would apologize and tell him she hadn't met to run away she was just confused, but now everything made sense and she wanted nothing more than to be with him.

When she walked into the Grand Foyer, she could not have been more excited. Her hair was swept off of her shoulders into an elegant ballerina bun adorned with a crystal lily. She perused the crowd looking for Lucius, her Lucius. When she found him she was elated, she glided across the floor to go to him. She saw Rihanne standing by a large window, and then watched her walk over to Lucius. Narcissa watched as Lucius tipped Rihanne's chin up and kissed her. Narcissa felt as if her world crashed around feet, her heart stopped beating. It took her three minutes to realize someone had been talking to her.

"Narcissa dear, I am so glad you could make it," Lucius's mother, Antonia, grabbing Narcissa by her shoulder and kissed her on each cheek.

"Oh, uhm, yes. Thank you for inviting me, I have had a wonderful time, but I need to be going home. Good bye, have a wonderful evening," Narcissa stammered gathering her skirts and briskly walking away. She had missed her only chance and now it was too late. By the time Narcissa left, all Lucius saw was a pale blonde hurriedly leaving in a beautiful gown. He had no idea the very girl he was waiting for. Lucius decided to distract himself with Rihanne until Narcissa showed up, but she never did.

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><p>Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. ~Edna St. Vincent Millay<p>

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><p>AN: So I wasn't at school all day, because of the foot incident, so I was able to update twice! Yay! I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the last one. I may even update the very next chapter tonight, who knows? I hope you enjoyed, until next time! I felt this story needed two quotes because it is so long.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: My dear chillens, I am going to update again today. It has been a very slow day for me, so updating is the only thing I can do. This chapter will cover Narcissa's heartbreak, and how she deals with her rage. It was a fun chapter to write. This is another two quote chapter because both of these were so fittingly perfect! Love!

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><p>Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath. ~Eckhart Tolle<p>

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><p>Temper tantrums, however fun they may be to throw, rarely solve whatever problem is causing them. ~Lemony Snicket<p>

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><p>How dare he! The audacity of that arrogant bastard still managed to astound her. She had turned out to be just like one of those girls he dates, thinking that somehow she'll change him in a way no one has before. The mere thought of him sickened her now. What could she do besides, coolly ignore him or flat out make a scene. A scene in public, how ghastly would that be? She could never do that to herself, her image was far too important to be lost over some 15 year old slime ball from Hell.<p>

"Get out of my way," she growled at a young girl, probably about 12 years old, Narcissa felt bad afterwards as she gave the girl a fright but in the moment she was filled with rage. It was white hot in her stomach, she was physically ill on her way home more than once. When she finally arrived back home she flew up the stairs, kicking her shoes off and ripping her hair out of the bun along the way. Narcissa's chamber was full of bookshelves and she went for those first, yanking the books from the shelves and tearing some of them apart. She started picking books at random to open the covers and rip the pages out. She had a wide variety of various glass objects to break, and break them she did. A blown glass vase given to her by her mother shattered against the wall in a fulfilling way, she threw one of her heavier books at her vanity mirror causing a huge crack in it, but when she came to the tiniest crystal swan, and her heart skipped a beat. The Bastard had given that to her for her 14th birthday, she tried as hard as she could, she could not bring herself to let it slip from her fingers and shatter on the floor and that is when she broke. Narcissa crumpled to the floor weeping.

The next morning, that was exactly how Andromeda found her.

"Hey, I didn't see you at the party. Where were you las- Oh my god, Narcissa?" Andromeda ran to her younger sister through scraps of paper and bits of broken glass that were strewn everywhere. Andromeda couldn't believe the sight, her younger sister makeup smeared all over her face and rips in the lace of her new dress. Andromeda expertly lifted the petite girl and laid her on the slightly rumpled sheets. She gently shook the sleeping girl awake.

"Cissy, wake up. Cissy," she pleaded.

"Wha- what do you want?" Narcissa said hoarsely, groggily rubbing her eyes. The events of the previous evening came flooding back to her and she bolted upright.

"What happened in here?" Andromeda inquisitively whispered.

"Oh nothing," Narcissa chirped, "I was just being silly last night, I have fully recovered. Worry you not."

"Are you sure? Do you need help cleaning up?"

"I am fine," Narcissa's voice took on a haughty tone, "I can take care of this myself." Incredibly enough, Andy went without a word; she just wanted to give her sister some time to sort out the mess. Narcissa looked around the room at the destruction before her.

"Reparo," she whispered many times before everything was back to normal. She gasped when she saw her reflection in the now repaired mirror she looked terrible, runny nose bloodshot eyes and makeup everywhere. She lifted her wand and pointed it at her face.

"Scourgify," with that last spell, all of the physical reminders of last night's trauma was erased. She spent the rest of the day acting cheerful around her family, ignoring Andy's blatant looks of confusion. She had several days to craft in her head what she would say to him if he had the audacity to face her at platform 9 and ¾. It was well crafted and elegant, she was proud of herself; she would not let her emotions get the better of her.

The morning that the ladies went back to school, Narcissa made sure she was perfectly coiffed and made-up to show The Bastard she did not give a damn about him. When she saw him, the white hot rage was back, the only thing she wanted to do was find something terribly fragile and shatter it, like he did to her. She maintained her composure quite well, not even acknowledging his presence. Once she was in her usual compartment with Violet, she thought he would not be coming to talk to her, The Coward! Around ten minutes into the train ride the compartment door slid open.

"Violet, would you be willing to give Narcissa and me some space?" The Bastard said smoothly sliding into the compartment. Violet looked at him and then Narcissa's face and bolted. He tentatively sat down.

"You never showed up to the party, I was worried about you."

"I was at the party far long enough, and do not you dare feign interest in me. You never cared about me, you just saw me as one of the few ladies you have yet to bed. It was all just a game for you," she seethed.

"Do not think for a minute you can tell me how I-"Lucius began, but Narcissa interrupted before he could finish.

"I thought that because we were friends it would be different, that the kiss would be more meaningful, but I never meant anything more to you did I? Go. Go back to your tall ginger girlfriend."

"She isn't my girlfriend," he said pleadingly, trying to take her hand, and she wrenched them away from his reach.

"Your latest whore then, fine. I do not care, just be anywhere but here."

"I do care about you," he sighed looking into her fierce emerald eyes.

"If you cared about me you would not have done something as inconceivably idiotic as kiss someone else?" She asked her eyes like daggers.

"I wasn't thinking. All I want is you; you are all I have wanted since that first day at breakfast." He stood up, trying to bring her with him so he could hug her. She wouldn't budge until he stopped trying to bring her up, then she stood up to her full height, which was considerably shorter than his but she held herself as if an extra five feet were added to her stature.

"Well then, is it not just horrendous that I did too? Now, I want nothing to do with you," she pointed to the compartment door, "Good day." He left woefully without a second glance, there had to be something he could do to get her back.


	7. Chapter 7

Ignoring someone is the best form of revenge. It makes people crave your attention. ~Me

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><p>The next several weeks, Narcissa ignored The Bastard. He always came up to try and talk to her, and he just continued walking. There were some instances when she couldn't just walk away, and she just sat there avoiding eye contact and seemingly ignored every word out of his mouth. She wasn't ignoring the things he said though; she was absorbing them and storing them for a later date. He was insistent that he was sorry, it was a mistake, a mistake that so far he had no way of changing.<p>

The third day of the third week is when she started getting the flowers, then every day without fail a pure white Calla Lily was delivered by owl to her at breakfast. At first she started blatantly throwing them away, waiting until he was watching her to dump them all. A week later the flowers started coming with short notes, each one had a different thing he loved about her written on them. The next week it went from one single flower to an entire bouquet, Narcissa couldn't go anywhere without smelling like them.

"Wow, he really must be sorry," Violet said looking at the fresh bouquet that Narcissa put in a simple vase. She had decided to stop throwing the flowers away, it was a big waste so she kept the flowers and she chronicled the notes, Violet ended up taking them from her and making a little bound book of them. Lucius then started sending Narcissus' along with the Lilies; it was starting to get rather trying because people kept asking her what they were for and why someone kept sending her flowers.

"I don't care, I will not forgive him. He does not deserve my forgiveness," she said smelling the newest batch, "They are getting to be a better quality, he must realize I like nice things," she giggled. Narcissa got off of her bed, stretching her arms gently. It was time for another day of flowers and constant apologies; it was coming to be her norm. That is why it was weird for her that no flowers came, no note and no apologies. At first she was relieved, and then she was, for a very short while, angry. The lasting emotion though, was sadness. Why had he all of a sudden stopped caring? She knew the answer though, he had never cared, and he just got bored with trying to win her back.

The next weekend, Narcissa tried to take her mind off the growing sadness by going to a quidditch game. It was Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw, so there was positively no chance of running into him there. In the middle of the match, a new voice came on the speakers.

"This is probably the most embarrassing thing I have ever done. I just want to let all of you know that before I get any further. I am doing this because I was a terrible person, and I know that she may never forgive me, but I hope this is a start." He sounded nervous, but he still managed to be as charismatic as ever, damn it why was it so hard to stay mad at someone willing to make a fool themselves? He started singing some ghastly love song that was popularly played on the radio; the Deputy Headmistress let him humiliate himself for a good two minutes before she made him stop and leave, most likely with a week's worth of detentions. After the match, he was waiting for her in the common room, with a bouquet of lilies in hand.

"That was completely horrible," she said taking the roses, "You are a terrible singer," she laughed.

"I wasn't getting through to you any other way, sometimes public humiliation is the best way of doing things," he looked into her eyes, they were softer than they had been for a very long time.

"I cannot forgive you, not yet anyway. You didn't break my heart; you ripped it out stomped on it and crumbled it into tiny pieces. The best I can give you now is not blistering fury, I can talk to you but I don't know if I will ever-"Lucius grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a kiss. It was nothing like their first kiss; it was passionate and deep and before Narcissa knew what she was doing her lips separated and her arms twisted around his neck and her fingers in his hair. She pulled away breathless and giddy.

"See, it is things like that that make this whole arrangement unfair. I am so adamant about your nonforgiveness and then you do that. It's like cheating on a test." She said, her arms still wrapped around his neck, she laid her head gently on his chest, and she could have stayed like that forever. Eventually, someone cleared their throat awkwardly because Bella had just walked into the room.

"What the hell is this?" she screeched gesturing and Narcissa and Lucius who jumped apart immediately upon hearing her voice.

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><p>AN: I didn't feel satisfied with the place I left the story so I decided to update one last time today. I feel this is a good stopping point for the evening, I suppose I could have made all the updates one long chapter, but where is the fun in that? I hope all of my lovely readers have a wonderful evening/ morning wherever you are!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hullo lovelies! This chapter is an immediate continuation of the previous chapter, but then there is a time jump, it is about a year and where it happens is a little star. I don't want it to get repetitive. Enjoy!

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><p>"My version of falling in love is borderline psychotic. Should be avoided at all costs. Get obsessed. Can't fall in love and function at the same time. All-consuming. Tunnel vision. Euphoric."<br>Graham Norton

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><p>"Bella Calm down," Narcissa soothed her wild-eyed older sister, "This is nothing to freak out about."<p>

"I AM NOT FREAKING OUT. WHATEVER THE HELL YOU ARE DOING IS FREAKING OUT! STOP HAVING SOME DAMNNED MIDLIFE CRISIS AND COME TO YOUR SENSES!" Bella screeched at the top of her lungs, yanking her sister towards her.

"Bellatrix. Calm down. Now," Narcissa growled wrenching her arm out of her sister's grasp, "It is not a midlife crisis. I truly care about him, and he me."

"I cannot believe you fell for that bullshit. You always said 'We're friends; I know what type of a guy he is. I will not fall for his perfidy.' You actually used the fucking word 'perfidy.' Look where you are now, you have fallen for his oldest sham," Bellatrix said incredulously staring at the lovey-dovey expression in her youngest sister's eyes.

"How dare you, impugn my honor," the onlookers of the argument goggled at the pair of arguers. A tall crazy looking brunette that looked as if she was about to castrate the taller impressive blonde with cold grey eyes, the latter that just used the word "impugn."

"I would never hurt her. I care about Narcissa so deeply, a feeling that you will never feel because you are so psychotically entangled in other people's affairs. Your sister has the right to choose who she wants to be with, and if that is me, you will have to deal with it," Lucius snarled in a smooth voice, protectively standing in front of Narcissa.

"Bella, this is my life. I can do what I wish, and you will never stop me," Narcissa said coolly taking Lucius's hand, "Come on darling, let us leave." She walked proudly, her head held high, ignoring the blatant stares of everyone in the common room. Once they left however, she excused herself from Lucius to go to the bathroom, there she cried and sniffled, not wanting to make a spectacle of herself in front of her brand new boyfriend. Was he her boyfriend? Lucius Malfoy her boyfriend, the words sounded so foreign in her head. Narcissa looked in the mirror, fixing her eyeliner and blowing her nose so it wouldn't look like she had been crying. Exiting the restroom, she gingerly took Lucius's hand and they went on a long stroll through the grounds. *

Around the same time the next year, Narcissa was valiantly trying to study for her OWLS, valiantly because her boyfriend kept trying to distract her very best efforts.

"Mmm… Dear?" Lucius asked tracing the palm of her hand with the tips of his fingers.

"Yes?" Narcissa asked slightly agitated, even though she had placed herself on the opposite end of the couch, he still was trying to get her to stop studying.

"I thought, maybe, that you could take a break from studying and we could relax for a little while."

"No, I need to study. Just because you have already taken your OWLS does not mean I can just forsake mine," she said glaring at him over a scrap of parchment. Lucius still wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Whatever," she said rolling her eyes, "I am still going to be studying." That fact did not seem to deter him one bit, he still brushed his lips against her hair and jawline. He whispered beautiful, eloquent sayings in multiple languages, and he stroked her hair twirling individual pieces around his fingers. Eventually, Narcissa was lulled into a gentle sleep into his arms and that's where she awoke.

"Mmm, what time is it?" Narcissa groggily asked stretching out of her paramour's arms.

"Around three in the morning I think" Lucius said, kissing her forehead. He has stayed up all evening watching her sleep. If Narcissa knew, she probably would have been slightly disturbed but Lucius was enamored with the things she did in her sleep.

"We should probably go to our respective rooms, goodnight," Narcissa said kissing his lips lightly and heading up to her bedroom. She slept lightly, dreaming about a wedding, her wedding. When she woke up the thought terrified her, she was barely 16 years old; there was no way she could be thinking about marriage.

"So I was wondering if maybe we could meet each other's parents this Easter holiday," Lucius asked on their way to breakfast, after taking her surprisingly heavy bag.

"I already know your parents, and you know mine."

"No, I meant as like a couple. Introducing me to your parents as your boyfriend and vice versa, it just seems right," he said beaming at her. This was weird; it didn't feel like Lucius at all.

"Yeah, that sounds… Super!" Narcissa said feigning excitement, "I can't wait, I'll owl my parents after breakfast." This was a whole undeveloped side of her boyfriend; Narcissa didn't know if she was confused or excited by this. He was caring and sweet, not anything like how he used to be with other girls. She loved the attention most of the time but she also needed some space, trying to study with an extra person was difficult.

"Dear, I am going to the owlery to send my letter. I'll see you in a short while," Narcissa said receiving a kiss on the forehead and a "Be back soon."

Narcissa did drop off her letter, but she also dropped off by the common room to pick up a few books she forgot to grab where she ran into Violet.

"Hey! I feel like I haven't talked to you forever," Narcissa sang throwing her arms around her friend's shoulders.

"Yeah, you've been a little preoccupied with your new beau. I've missed you!"

"Yeah, it's been crazy. I wish I could've spent more time with you, but you know how things get…" Narcissa couldn't help but feel a little awkward; she had replaced spending most of her time with one friend for another. They went on to make a little bit of small talk, but it wasn't the same.

"Cissy, I need to talk to you," her older sister Andromeda pulled her away from the awkward conversation.

"Andy, I was in the middle of talking to someone!" Narcissa said aghast.

"Oh well, this is more important. I'm engaged!"

"What the hell?" Narcissa never cursed, but this was a shocking surprise.

"Well, I had been dating this guy for a while, like a few years, and today he proposed! Isn't that wonderful?"

"NO! Who is this guy?"

"His name is Ted… he's a Hufflepuff…" Andy said bashfully.

No! You're dating a Hufflepuff?" Narcissa let out a peal of laughter.

"Yeah, and there is something else… he's a muggle-born.

"WHAT! You're dating a… mudblood!" Narcissa jumped up, "Uhm… I mean, how are you going to possibly tell our parents?"

"I don't know it doesn't matter does it? I'm so happy!"

"Well, I'm glad for you Andy," Narcissa managed to get out; wrapping her arms around her sisters shoulders.

After Narcissa left, she was dazed. The day had been so filled with revelations. The only thing Narcissa could do was wait the last week before Easter holidays. Hopefully, Andy would postpone telling her parents about her engagement before they met Lucius. She didn't ever want to have to live through such a terribly awkward moment with him.

Tonight was the night; Lucius was going to meet her parents, as her boyfriend. Narcissa was going for tasteful, a one sleeved emerald knee length gown. She was so nervous; her heart was beating so hard she was sure people could hear it. They would be having hours devours and drinks with her parents, and dinner with his.

"Oh, Lucius, I am so glad that you could make it," she heard her mother graciously say.

"Well thank you for having me, you look lovely," she was so proud of him, he was incredibly smooth. Well, it was now or never. Narcissa exited her room and glided down the stairs.

"Lucius, how wonderful for you to have made it," she heard her father say gruffly.

"Likewise, sir."

"Hello Lucius," Narcissa finally arrived, "Mother, father I have something to tell you. Lucius and I are a couple, we have been for around a year and we decided you should know." She spoke without looking either parent in the eye.

"That is just, wonderful!" Druella beamed, Narcissa knew she would be pleased. If the pair ever married they would be the couple with the most impressive lineage, probably ever. Cygnus looked less please, but her saw how happy his little girl was and that was the only thing that mattered to him.

"Mom, Dad! I have news too," Andy said coming up to the quartet.

"Well, this is Lucius and my cue to leave. We'll just floo out, I know where it is. See you later," Narcissa said rushing out, dragging Lucius behind her. Right before they left, the shouting started.

Dinner with the Malfoy's was entirely less awkward, as both of Lucius's parents were completely taken with Narcissa. She had a shockingly great time, even though the Manor was colossal she felt rather at home. Those feelings were intensified tenfold when, something incredible happened. Lucius had taken Narcissa on a tour of the Manor, pointing out things that were architecturally phenomenal.

"Narcissa?"

"Yes?"

"I'm in love with you."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So as some of you may know, One Life To Live is ending and this may make me sound crazy but I probably won't be able to update tomorrow because I will be an emotion wreck! Unless you want ridiculous sappy clichés, I won't be able to give you anything worth reading. Until next time, Love!

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>"We are friends and I do like to pass the day with you in serious and inconsequential chatter. I wouldn't mind washing up beside you, dusting beside you, reading the back half of the paper while you read the front. We are friends and I would miss you, do miss you and think of you very often." - Unknown<hr>

"Wow. I- Wow," Narcissa felt silly as her eyes filled up with tears, and she couldn't blink them away, before she knew it they were falling down her face in rivulets.

"Narcissa, are you okay? Was this not the right time? Should there have been more of a deal made?" He sounded so concerned and it just made her cry more.

"They- they are not sad tears," she couldn't help herself now as her shoulders began shaking, "That could not have been a more perfect moment. I love you too." Lucius pulled her into his chest, kissing every inch of her that he could reach, her head, cheeks, forehead, eyelids, and lips and finally he kissed every tear off of her face.

"I'm being silly aren't I?" Narcissa asked wiping her face, "I normally can keep my composure so well, I don't know what happened. This is embarrassing."

"No it isn't. I have never seen you cry before. You are so beautiful."

"No, I must be a mess red puffy eyes and runny nose. I'm sorry I did this to you, you must feel awkward," she pulled herself of his arms, "Will you direct me to a bathroom?" Lucius told her the way. She could not believe she cried in front of him, how degrading! She didn't take long and before she knew it, she was back in her own home.

"Andy?" Narcissa knocked on her older sister's door to tell her the good news, but it just swung open. Were there were once crimson sheets there was only bed, the bookshelves were empty and all the pictures were gone. Narcissa felt the tears well in her eyes; she couldn't believe that Andromeda had left her family for a mudblood!

"Shame, isn't it? At least our parents had the good sense to kick her to the curb where she belongs, cavorting with mudbloods! The filth," Bella's high cold voice rang from the hallway.

"Bella! She is our sister."

"Was our sister, she wasn't just kicked out. She was disowned," Bella gave a harsh cackle.

"Oh, well I am going to bed. Goodnight," Narcissa could not believe her ears, how Bella was talking to her own sister! Narcissa was astounded how someone that could be so protective and kind, could also be so sadistic and cruel. This had been the best day of her life, and it was destroyed by the selfishness of her foolish sister. Why was she the only child in her family that knew how to properly behave in society?

Narcissa's exams were stressful enough without adding the family drama, and Lucius still hardly let her study.

"Okay, that's it," Narcissa said the evening before her first exam, she and Lucius were in the library and he started kissing up her shoulder, "If you do not let me study until my exams are done I will break up with you."

"You wouldn't do that, you love me."

"I may love you, but I also do not want to fail my OWLS if you don't leave me alone I will leave you," her voice was icy and her glare was harsh. Evidently it was enough to stop Lucius in his tracks, he did not love the tone she used with him, but he loved her and it was enough to make him stop.

Of course Narcissa received all Outstanding's, but she was adamant that it was because she studied so diligently. The summer between her fifth and sixth year was relaxing, she spent most of the time on holiday in Romania with her sister, her parents, and the Malfoy's. She spent most of the time exploring hidden areas and visiting museums. Lucius had gotten bored with the trifle experiences, Narcissa knew what Lucius wanted but she wasn't ready. He had been too carefree with other ladies in the past, she knew he loved her but a girl could never be too careful. More than once Lucius had let himself into her bedchamber with the hopes of intimacy, but Narcissa always made sure he knew his place. She let him lay down with her and hold her, and he could kiss her goodnight, but she was not comfortable with anything further. Narcissa also had a perverse love of knowing how much he was suffering, in her mind he deserved it for the way he treated women in the past.

It was unfortunate to have to go back to Hogwarts after such a relaxing holiday, but all good things come to an end. On the morning of September 1st, after Narcissa completed her prefect duties, she was sitting in her usual compartment when a young boy tentatively opened the door.

"Excuse me? I was wondering if, may- maybe I could sit here?" A young boy, obviously a first year, with a sallow complexion and a hook nose asked timidly. He wasn't making eye contact and he looked terrified to be there.

"Of course you may," Narcissa said graciously sweeping a large bunch of random items into her bag, "And your name is?"

"Severus Snape miss," he slid a book from his bag, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._

"Please call me Narcissa, Cissa or Cissy, if you please. That is a fascinating book, are you enjoying it?" Narcissa knew how to play up her maternal side, and this poor boy looked like he needed it.

"Oh yes I just love this! It is so interesting-"he continued on babbling about the book, and Narcissa leaned back to listen to him. Suddenly Severus trailed off, looking at the doorway.

"Good afternoon love, who's this?" Lucius asked planting a sweet kiss on her forehead.

"Lucius," Narcissa beamed at him, "This is Severus Snape, he'll be a first year." Lucius could see that Narcissa was obviously taken with the young boy, so even though the boy was no one he would normally associate he decided to figuratively take the kid under his wing.

"Nice to meet you Severus," Lucius stuck out his hand, "I'm Lucius."

"A pleasure to meet you as well," Severus said pumping his hand.

"Well, I must be off now. Having lunch with Slughorn and some others, I'll see you at the feast." He shook Severus's hand one more time and kissed Narcissa on the nose. The rest of the train ride happened without any incident; Narcissa helped Severus with some of the more difficult Latin and French phrases in some of his books and repaired some of the holes in his robes. Narcissa was so pleased to have met this young boy; he would help her feel less lonely when Lucius was doing whatever it is that he did. She could already tell that Severus would be a wonderful friend; he already basically worshipped the ground she walked on. As they talked more and more about his life at home, she felt herself growing more attached to the young boy. She was watching the sorting hoping more than anything that he would be placed in Slytherin.

"Severus Snape," McGonagall called out crisply.

"Slytherin!" The hat called out, and Narcissa sprang to her feet applauding along with the rest of her house, when he sat down next to her she gave him a big hug. When she turned back, her eyes met with Andromeda's. They exchanged an intense look, and Narcissa wished she could walk over to Andy and hug her warmly, but Andromeda had burned that bridge.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: If this is chapter is just disgustingly sappy, I apologize in advance. If you enjoy it, I guess that is all the better and I will try to be a little sappier from now on.

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><p>"One day we were brought into the world, knowing love only as being what we had for our toys, family, and friends. Then, you meet someone who alters your conception of love, and you never know how you loved anything before because this kind of love is" - Unknown<p>

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><p>After the sorting, Narcissa was walking back to the common room chatting with young Severus.<p>

"Cissy," she heard an urgent whisper," Cissy, I need to talk to you. Please, I miss you so much. Please talk to me!"

"Excuse me Severus, I will speak with you later," Narcissa turned on the spot and pulled the brunette into a currently unoccupied restroom. Immediately when the door was shut, Narcissa threw her arms around her sister's neck, pulling her sister's face into her soft, pale neck.

"I miss you so much, Andy. I am so glad that we can be at school without Bella, so that I can still spend time with you. My favorite sister!"

"Oh thank goodness, I was so afraid you would be like the rest of the family. Ignoring my pleas of forgiveness and sorrow, oh how I adore you!" Andy wept, holding her sister close. They had a very deep conversation about their respective summers, and after that they returned to their common room with linked arms. Lucius goggled at his love; she had told him about what happened and how she couldn't forgive her sister, and now it was back how it was before everything happened.

"Cissa, darling, do you care to explain what is going on here?" Lucius asked, sauntering over to the sisters.

"Well, Lucius, she is my sister and I decided I could not live without her. I know you will have no objections to this, right?" Narcissa asked, arching one of her eyebrows. She knew how to pose her questions in an artful manner; she knew that Lucius would never disagree with her on anything.

"Of course not my love, if this is what you choose I wholeheartedly agree with you. I've known you for a very long time Andromeda, but I don't know if we have ever been properly introduced. I am Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you," Andromeda giggled, "I'm Andromeda, one of Narcissa's sisters. There is no need to be so formal though." The rest of the evening, the four sat in a circle around the fire like the most haphazardly family ever. Narcissa and Lucius sat in chairs next to each other, holding hands; Severus was sitting with his legs crossed at Narcissa's feet and Andromeda sat across from all of them. At this moment, Narcissa could never remember being happier.

The next few months flew by, and Narcissa was in total bliss. She had a boyfriend that could not be more in love with her, a sister that she cared for deeply, and a best friend that felt more and more like a son each day. Lucius was, however, was becoming readily more stressed because he had his NEWTS coming up and he was studying constantly. Narcissa filled his absence with more time spent with her sister, but it just wasn't the same.

"Andy, I think I am going to go to the library for a while."

"Mmm… Why?" Andromeda asked while perusing a magazine.

"I feel like I have not seen Lucius for ages, and I really miss him. I just figured that I could go do my homework there, just as well as I could do it here. Anyway, you should be spending a little bit of time with your fiancée, shouldn't you?"

"Husband, not fiancé," Andy stipulated.

"WHAT! You never told me that!"

"I figured that is wasn't _that_ big of a deal, we got married over the summer."

"Not that big of a deal! You're married, you got married and I wasn't there to be your Maid of Honor. Why would you do that to me?"

"Because I never thought that you would talk to me again, and I just wanted to be married."

"I wish that I could have been there, you better have taken pictures. I want to see it, and by the way you will not stop me from throwing you a wedding shower at some point in time," Narcissa hugged her older sister and made her way to the library. When she arrived, she didn't make her presence known immediately because Lucius had his head hung over a book, with his hands holding the sides of his head.

"Lucius sweetie, are you all right?" Narcissa whispered sitting down next to him. The snore he let out next let her know that he had been sleeping for a while. Narcissa stroked his head and laid her own head down on the table to watch him sleep. How could she possibly have been so lucky? She knew that this probably wouldn't last; he was after all probably the biggest playboy this school had ever seen, but she was content for now.

"Mmm… Narcissa, is that you?" Lucius yawned groggily.

"Yes, it is. You fell asleep studying my love," Narcissa smiled, "Do you remember when I was trying to study for my OWLS and you kept interrupting me? Now you see the importance of studying, don't you?"

"Importance, maybe not, but I still maintain there were better ways we could have been spending our time," Lucius said packing his books and taking her hand, "I love you."

"I love you too."

A few weeks later it was finally springtime, which meant that it getting closer and closer to Lucius's exams and his graduation. Lucius and Narcissa started spending even more time together, even if it was just Narcissa and Lucius doing their homework in the same vicinity.

"Hey Narcissa, do you want to go on a walk with me. I need to take a break, the words are melding together."

"Sure thing my dear, just let me finish this sentence," Narcissa said, "And I am done."

They walked around the grounds and talked for what seemed like hours, about what would happen in their relationship after Lucius left school.

"We really will not see each other much after you graduate, will we?" Narcissa asked sitting down in front of the lake.

"I guess not, we could probably see each other on breaks and things but I don't know if it will be much else," Lucius said sitting down next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Well that is a little depressing," Narcissa said resting her head on his shoulder.

"It doesn't have to be that way, you know?"

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

"We don't have to do it like that; there is a much simpler solution."

"What would that be?"

"Marry me."

"What?"

"Narcissa Black, you mean more to me than anything that I have ever cared about. I love you with every fiber of my entire being. Will you please do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?" Lucius looked into her emerald green eyes, his cool grey eyes full of hope.

"I'm sixteen, you're seventeen. This cannot be a rational decision to make."

"We're in love, who needs to be rational?

"Do you have a ring?"

"Of course I have a ring, I have been planning this for quite some time," he pulled a black satin box from the pocket of his robes; it was a rose gold band that was twisted around itself in the infinity symbol, "I went for something that was a little less ostentatious because you'll still be at school next year and I know you wouldn't want to draw that kind of attention to yourself. After you get out of school though, I would love to get you something that is more in your class range."

"Let me try it on."

"Is that a yes?"

"Let me try it on," Narcissa said reaching for the ring, of course it was a perfect fit, and it looked spectacular.

"I love it, yes. Yes, Yes, Yes! I will marry you!" Narcissa said laying her head back down on his shoulder.

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><p>AN: See, nauseatingly sappy. I tried to upload a link to a picture of the ring that was my inspiration, but it wouldn't let me :( Also that you for your feedback, I am going to be doing a little bit of POV but I wanted to save my POV's for really important parts in the story like before the wedding, when Lucius tells Narcissa he is a Death Eater etc. Love!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks for the response for the last chapter; you all validate my reason for writing, and I love you all. You are all beautiful rays of sunshine and light, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Love!

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><p>Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. ~Emily Brontë<p>

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><p>"Now we need to tell people," Lucius said staring into the water, watching the giant squid swim around lazily.<p>

"Uhm, no, we do not need to tell anyone," Narcissa said pulling her head off of his shoulder, "We will not be telling anyone until I am out of school. It will be our secret."

"Why don't you want to tell people?"

"Have you ever met my eldest sister? You know how she feels about you and us as a couple. She would probably flay you alive," Narcissa said going slightly shrill, "I will not let you do this to us. I want to be happy about our engagement, not dreading telling people."

"Please, can we please tell people?" Lucius pouted at her, looking at her with sad eyes, "Please?"

"Fine," Narcissa sighed, "I guess I had better start getting used to caving into your demands, especially because you have that look down so well."

"Yes, yes you should. C'mon lets go," Lucius said pulling his fiancée to her feet.

"That is not fair, how am I supposed to get what I want?" Narcissa pouted.

"You won't, unless I let you. Which I will, because I love you," Lucius said pulling her close, "Now let's go."

"Are you sure we have to do this? Really?"

"Yes, I am very sure. I have never been surer of anything in my entire life."

They walked back to the common room in silence. Narcissa was contemplating her decision; did she really just agree to marry Lucius? She was only sixteen, what had she been thinking? Sure she loved him, but was that enough? Keeping those thoughts internalized was a struggle once they reached the common room, it was about to become real. Keeping the smile on her face was difficult as she started to panic.

"Severus, Andromeda! Come over here," Lucius called waving them over to the corner they were standing in.

"We have some news," Narcissa whispered quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"You're pregnant aren't you? I can tell by the look on your face, mom and dad are going to kill you. No they won't get a chance; Bella will castrate Lucius and then probably murder the both of you. Oh Merlin, what are you going to do?" Andromeda asked sounding stressed.

"I am _not_ pregnant," Narcissa nearly shrieked, her voice was so shrill it made Severus wince.

"Then what possible news could you have to share?"

"We're getting married!" Lucius exclaimed joyfully.

"Wow! Oh my goodness, congratulations, I can't believe it!" Andromeda gasped pulling the couple into a giant hug.

"Congratulations mate," Severus said shaking Lucius's hand, "Narcissa, I am so happy for you," he said hugging her. Narcissa couldn't help but be excited now that she knew that there were other people that were happy for her and Lucius.

"So how are you going to let our parents know?" Andy asked.

"Wow, I did not even think of that. How am I going to tell them? They are going to be angry that I did not tell them first," Narcissa sighed putting her head down, "Maybe this was not a good idea, I sort of wish that this never happened."

"Don't say that, you are going to be so happy with Lucius once this all settles down, I promise. Just write mom and dad a letter. Everything will be fine," Narcissa was slightly calmed down by her sisters soothing words, but she still was nervous about the reaction. If only Lucius had done the proper thing and asked her parents' permission before proposing!

_Dear Father and Mother, _

_I have missed you greatly in the past few months. I am not, however, just writing for pleasure. As you know Lucius and I have been a couple for a long while, so it is not surprising he wanted to change the status of our relationship. Earlier this afternoon, Lucius proposed to me. I am sure that you are as shocked as I was, but I have decided to accept his proposal. I know he did not go the proper way about asking for my hand, but I figured that the two of you would be pleased as it is a profitable marriage for both of our families. I await your response, and please do not tell Bellatrix, I wish to inform her myself. _

_ With very much love, Narcissa _

That had to be a good letter, it covered all of the bases, but a letter just felt so informal. She knew her parents would jump to the wrong conclusions; her father would probably have a heart attack. Narcissa made her way to the owlery before she could decide not to send the letter and just wait for the next time she saw them in person. In the owlery Narcissa ran into Violet, it was incredibly awkward as she hadn't talked to the girl in months. She had become so busy with people that were, well, more important in her life.

"Hello," Narcissa felt obligated to say something, she could not very well ignore the person that used to be her best friend.

"Oh, hello," Violet dismissively said giving Narcissa a cold look.

"How have you been?"

"Just fine," Violet's voice still hadn't thawed out.

"That's wonderful."

"Well I really must be going, goodbye."

That was sufficiently awkward; Narcissa should have kept her mouth shut and she definitely should not under any circumstances blurt out anything about her engagement.

"Lucius and I are engaged!" Wow, why had she done that? Way to make the situation way less awkward.

"Congratulations? Really, what do you expect me to say? You dumped my friendship for a boy, now you're engaged to him and you want me to be happy?"

"I'm sorry, I was trying to make our conversation less awkward and that really didn't help, did it?"

"No not really, though you were never one for social interactions were you?"

"No, I really do not even like people all that much," Narcissa laughed. They exchanged an awkward hug and Violet left, which was not a way to completely repair the broken friendship but at least Narcissa could exchange niceties with her once best friend. After sending the letter Narcissa panicked, there was no turning back now. Was her happiness worth all of this stress?

The next day was the first day of Lucius's exams, so she steered clear of him. She did not want to stress him out more, if he wanted to see her, he could find her. Instead, after class she sat near the lake with Severus.

"Are you really excited to be marrying Lucius so young?"

"Yes, I am. At least, I think I am. I just have no idea, Lucius is so thrilled to be engaged to me, and I feel he does not understand the consequences of marriage, how much our lives will change."

"He loves you, I am sure of it. I know that it will be tough at first but you will learn to enjoy it."

"I know, but I do not want to be married before I graduate Hogwarts. Think of all the looks I will get! I do not want to be Andy."

"Tell him that you want to wait until after you graduate to get married. You can stay engaged, but just use that time to plan your wedding. You'll need a lot of time to plan the most lavish wedding the wizarding world has ever seen, it will take a lot of time to break the hearts of every woman that has ever been or will be married," Severus said with a sly smile.

"That is a fantastic idea Sev! You are the best friend I ever could have asked for. We should get back to the castle, I'm sure Lucius will be done by now and I would love to talk to him about you fabulous idea." Lucius, however, did not find the idea to be fabulous.

"What do you mean you don't want to marry me?"

"No, I never said that. I only said that I wanted to wait to marry you after I graduated. You cannot possibly take that as I 'don't want to marry you.' Of course I want to marry you; I am in love with you. I just want to wait; I do not want to be a sixteen year old bride. Please, understand I love you and I want to marry you with all of my heart and soul. Just not right now, in a year and a half. I always wanted a winter wedding anyway; this just gives us more time to plan."

"Is it truly what you want? If it is, then I can wait."

"Oh Lucius, it is what I want. Thank you so much, I love you."

"I love you too."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I am so sorry I haven't been able to update! My laptop broke Sunday and I just got it fixed so I should be able to start updating daily again. I know that Amelette had a question about the ring; I imagined it to be a simple rose gold band but it split into two and the two split parts twisted to make half of the infinity sign and since they are twisted together it makes a whole infinity sign. I love everyone's feedback, keep giving it to me. Love!

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><p>Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends. ~Richard Bach<p>

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><p><em>To my dear Narcissa, <em>

_ I cannot say that I am not a little bit surprised at the news of your engagement; I did not realize you were so taken with that young man. Your mother, of course, is positively thrilled because one of her daughter's is making a smart decision when it comes to marriage as she has no hope for Bella ever to find a suitable mate. I however cannot say that I am so thrilled with this prospective marriage. If you were marrying this boy out of love I would be very happy for you, but somehow I do not believe that is the case. I implore you not to marry him out of some strange sense of propriety, if you fall in love with an obscurely named pureblood, I would rather you marry him than Lucius Malfoy. I just do not wish to have my little flower in a loveless marriage. _

_ Very much love to you, _

_ Cygnus Black _

Narcissa was very surprised by the tone of the letter, she had no idea her father cared so much about who she was to marry. This letter did, however, pose an interesting question. Of course she loved Lucius more than her own life, but it seemed that no one else knew that. Everyone that she had talked to was convinced it was a marriage of convenience, or that she was pregnant. It was getting hard to ignore the blatant stares at her left hand, she expected them from students, but the more unsettling stares were from her teachers. The stares were not just reserved for her hand though; there were also obvious stares at her belly hoping to see some sign of growth to justify the impending marriage.

School entered into its final days and Narcissa was filled an impending sense of dread. She had never been at school without Lucius and she didn't know what to do without him, it sounded disgustingly clingy so she would never admit it out loud. She would eventually have to adjust, but there were breaks where she could see him and she wouldn't even be away from him for an entire year and then she would be his wife. That was her mantra, "Just get through school, then you are with him forever."

Summer passed by at an incredibly fast rate, Lucius has started working at the Ministry so she hardly saw him. The only things for her to do were to begin planning her wedding and chat with her sociopathic sister, she couldn't even go and see Andromeda because if her parents found out she would also be disowned. Her family was so tiresome with all of its rules and intricacies; she decided that once she is married she would never let propriety get in the way of family. She wanted to be able to spend the day feeling carefree with her older sister.

"Narcissa, I was wondering if I could speak with you for a moment," Narcissa's mother whispered, hoping she wasn't waking her youngest child. Narcissa snapped her head up from the book she was staring at; she set the book aside and wrapped her dressing gown more tightly around her.

"Yes mother, what is going on?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your marriage to Lucius, I had a few questions." Not this again, Narcissa sighed and looked her mother in the eyes.

"I am not pregnant, I love Lucius, Lucius loves me, and I am not marrying him to make you or father happy," she prattled off the answers to the mundane questions she was always asked.

"No, that is not what I was interested in knowing. I wanted to know, why him? Why Lucius?"

"That's a good one; I don't really know the answer. It just feels right, he loves me and I love him. Is there anything more to a marriage than that?"

"Hmmm, alright, thank you for telling me. You should go to bed now, it is getting late," and with that Druella just left, no second glances or words. That was very strange, and most definitely unexpected. The rest of her summer was full of stolen kisses and fitful nights of sleep, and on the eve of Narcissa returning to school there was a nice formal dinner at Malfoy manor. Narcissa, Bellatrix and their parents were attending along with Lucius, Abraxas and Antonia. The dinner was light and seamless, and Narcissa made sure to keep her hand on her future husband's the entire evening.

September 1st was an emotional goodbye; she fought to keep her tears from spilling as Lucius kissed her forehead and his promises of writing her once a week did her no comfort. Once she was in her compartment she drew her arms around her legs and put her face on her knees and sobbed, she wasn't even deterred by the sound of the door opening and closing and a hand being placed on her shoulder.

"It's okay Cissa," Severus said awkwardly patting her shoulder; he really had no idea how to comfort a crying person.

"It is not okay," she sniffled, "I am making a complete fool of myself and it is for a ridiculous reason. No one should be sobbing over a boy, especially when one is a proper lady."

"It's okay if you feel like you need to cry, it's normal," Severus said.

"Not for me," Narcissa said wiping her eyes and blinking away the rest of her tears. How could she have let her emotions get the better of her like that? School was mundane now, Narcissa just went through the motions not putting any life into her work but doing it all impeccably. She just waited for Lucius's letters, even though he just talked about work and how much he missed her, it was enough for her to feel like he was still with her. The first Hogsmeade weekend came and went, but Lucius never showed up. Narcissa spent all her time waiting where they talked about meeting and he never came.

_My dearest Narcissa… _That is how the letter started off, the letter that was supposed to explain why he had never shown up. Narcissa had no care for his explanation, some trivial work business had kept him away and he hadn't even bothered to owl until three days after the incident. By the time she got the letter she was so numbed by the pain that she wasn't even angry by the letter. She was not surprised when the next day she got another letter as she had never responded to Lucius's, she was however surprised to find out that it was not from Lucius.

_My daughter Narcissa, _

_ I know that this is an inopportune moment to be writing but I write with urgent news. Yesterday evening your father fell quite ill and this morning he has just gotten worse. I have already owled your head of house and he will arrange transportation out of the castle. I wish that you would not have to miss school but I fear your father has very little time left in his life. _

_ With compassion _

_ Your Mother_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I tried to stay off the internet to support the internet blackout today, but I couldn't. I am far too devoted to this story, and to you my gentle readers. This chapter was kind of sad; I am a super emotional person so this chapter really hit me hard. Love!

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><p>Watching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of a falling star; one of a million lights in a vast sky that flares up for a brief moment only to disappear into the endless night forever. ~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross<p>

Narcissa stumbled off of the couch; there was no way her father could be dying, he couldn't die he was too good of a man. She was out of the common room and on her way to Professor Slughorn's office before she even realized what she was doing. She had not even changed her clothing from her rumpled school uniform. Her father would be fine; there was no possible way that anything could happen to him. She on Slughorn's door gently, and it swung open.

"Good evening Miss Black, it is really terrible news. I have your transportation ready, I am so very sor-"

"How am I going to get home," Narcissa cut off hoarsely. She would not let anyone say they were sorry for her father; after all he was going to be just fine, so it would be ridiculous for anyone to say they were sorry.

"Of course, you will be travelling by floo. I hope to see you again soon," Slughorn said softly. What a ridiculous notion! For some reason Slughorn thought she wasn't going to return to school, her father was going to be just fine and she would return to school. The travel was rather bumpy and Narcissa was sure she got soot on her white shirt, which would be hard to get out. Her land was not as graceful as she wished but it would have to do, she rose straightening out her skirt and saw her mother.

"Hello mother, it is nice to see you how is father."

"Narcissa, come with me upstairs, your father is asking for you. You need to see him, you need to tell him-"her mother chocked on a sob, "Just come with me." Narcissa followed her mother up the stairs warily; if her mother was starting to cry then things must be serious. When Narcissa saw her father lying in the bed, she threw herself to him. He looked very sickly he had a pale sallow complexion and he had lost a lot of weight.

"Daddy? Oh my goodness, daddy," Narcissa cried grasping her father's hand. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, how would her father ever walk her down the aisle?

"Nar- Narcissa, is that you? Is that my little flower?" Cygnus's voice was so different; it was no longer the robust and cheery tone she was used to. It was shallow and weak, interspersed with coughs and short, panting breaths.

"Daddy, yes it is me," Narcissa sobbed putting her head near his chest, trying to be close to him without hurting him. He weakly put his thin hand on her face, trying to wipe away some of her tears.

"Don't cry my flower, everything will be okay. I love you very much dear."

"I love you too daddy, I love you so much. You cannot do this to me though; I cannot be without my father. Please don't leave me!"

"Narcissa, I think you should leave. Your father needs to rest if he is ever to recover," Druella said pulling her daughter up by her arm, and she shooed her out of the room and shutting the door. Narcissa was left standing in the hallway, hearing low murmurs and the sound of muffled sobbing. Narcissa numbly walked outside and sat in the middle of the garden, she knew it was cold but it didn't seem to register. She knew what her mother making her leave meant, Narcissa had her final goodbye and now it was her mother's turn. If Narcissa was crying, the tears must have left her eyes quickly because her eyesight had never been clearer. She had no idea how long she was just sitting there, staring at a hedge but she was drawn out of her head when she heard a soft voice calling her name.

"Narcissa, oh thank goodness! I have been looking for you everywhere, I just found out your father was sick. I knew you would be at the house, but I am so glad I found you. You must be freezing!" She felt a thick, warm cloak wrap around her shoulders. She looked up at her savior and saw that it was Lucius.

"Go away," she said thickly; noting how strange her voice sounded after crying for so long, "I don't want you here. You can't start caring now that I am vulnerable."

"That's not what I want to do at all. I am so truly sorry that I broke our date; I wish to tell you why, and I will, but that is not for now. Now, I just want to comfort you. Let me do that, I beg of you," Lucius held out his arms, waiting for Narcissa to come to him. He didn't want to rush things with her being in such a fragile state. Narcissa stumbled to her love and melted into his arms, wrapping herself as closely to him as she possibly could. There he held her for what felt like moments, even though it was several hours. Eventually, Druella walked into the garden, a grave look on her face.

"Mother," Narcissa asked, "What happened?"

"I am afraid that your father has left the world, and us," she whispered, somehow managing to stay eloquent in these trying times.

"I am so deeply sorry for your loss, Cygnus was a terrific man, and he will be missed," Lucius said peeling himself away from Narcissa and standing her up.

"He's gone," Narcissa stated with absolutely no question in her voice, she just had to say it to make sure it was real. Druella just nodded her head and walked back into the house, no doubt to shut herself in her bedroom. Lucius put his arm around Narcissa and guided her to her bedroom; he laid her gently down on her bed and pulled her covers over the pale, shaking body. He turned to leave when he heard her gentle voice.

"Lucius, please stay with me tonight. I do not want to be alone," she said gently holding her arms out to him. He turned on the spot and glided toward her, wrapping his strong arms around her lithe shoulders. She pulled his chin towards her, passionately kissing him and stroking his hair. She pulled back and looked into his eyes; she felt a rush in the pit of her stomach and crashed their lips together again. This time she slid her hands to his shirt and started unbuttoning in hastily. Lucius pulled away from her and looked at her quizzically.

"What are you doing Cissa?" He asked her as she started to yank the buttons on her own shirt open.

"I changed my mind; I do not care about waiting for marriage any longer. Life is too short and I want you, all of you, now."

"No, I will not do this. You are grieving and I refuse to take advantage of the state you are in now."

"I am not in a state; I want every single inch of you to be mine. I promise you will not be taking advantage of me," she changed her angry tone into a seductive purr.

"I won't, I am terribly sorry but if you really want to do this I accept that. If you want this in a month when everything is not so fresh I will gladly make love to you, but not like this."

"Why are you so honorable?" Narcissa sighed cuddling into his chest, "I love you."

"I am not honorable," Lucius said in a strained tone, "I need to tell you why I never showed up for our date, before I do though, I want you to know that nothing changes the way I feel about you."

"No, No, No you cannot do this to me. You cannot tell me you are cheating on me right after the death of my father!"

"Oh my love," he chuckled kissing her forehead, "Never, never could I ever cheat on you, it is much different news than that. I needed to tell you before our wedding day, because I do not want to go into this marriage with secrets and half-truths." Lucius started rolling up the sleeve on his left arm, and Narcissa gasped when she saw the wriggling skull and snake on his left inner forearm.

"Narcissa, my light of life, I do not just work at the Ministry. I am a Death Eater."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: This chapter is beginning in Lucius's POV; I will separate Lucius's from Narcissa's so there is no confusion. POV is new to me, and I am trying to give Lucius a different voice than Narcissa, I would love your feedback to how it sounds. This chapter does start off exactly the same place that it left off in the previous chapter. Also, this is going to be a very long chapter I hope you enjoy it, Love!

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><p>In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced. ~Robert Sexton<p>

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><p>As soon as the words escaped his mouth he wished he could bring them back, why in the world had he decided to tell Narcissa now, of all possible time to tell her why did he choose right after her father had died? She was already obviously in a lot of pain and now he decided to scare the shit out of her, what a fabulous fiancée he was. To Lucius, becoming a Death Eater hadn't been even a remotely difficult decision. Lucius knew how he felt about the sordid scum that was allowed to inhabit the Earth with the obviously superior Mighty Beings. That is why the only second thought Lucius had when the Dark Lord came to him was about Narcissa. His only worry was that Narcissa would be put in danger, or forced to participate. He could not have that at all, his Narcissa might be strong when she put her mind to it but she was very soft and emotional. She wouldn't be able to differentiate the killing of filth and the killing of the Mightier, she may have valued purer blood but to her all lives were worth living, when she first told him that several years ago he nearly scoffed, even the thought of it now made Lucius want to smirk.<p>

After He assured Lucius that no harm would come to his precious girl, Lucius had immediately consented. With that Lucius had quickly risen to the tops of His ranks, not to the surprise of Lucius himself. He knew because of the things he had to rise in the ranks, Narcissa couldn't forgive him. The thought momentarily saddened him but then he had another thought. What if it didn't matter to her? What if she loved him in spite of the things he had done?

Lucius realized that it had been a rather long time since either of them spoke, so he cleared his throat. His beloved looked deep into his eyes. Oh her eyes, her beautiful green eyes that made his knees buckle the eyes that were still filled with tears. Narcissa cleared her throat before speaking, her normally strong and pure voice was shaky and feeble.

"Lucius, I am so glad you told me, but I do not mind," she stroked his cheek as she whispered the words to him, "I love you, no matter who you are or what you do."

"I don't think you are getting what I am saying here. I have done terrible things. I have killed people."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lucius felt Narcissa grow stiff in his arms, not shockingly she was disturbed by the news.

"I don't want any secrets with you; you are the person that means the most to me in this universe."

"I understand that, but why now? Why right after my father's passing?"

"The reason I missed out date. I was doing a job and it took longer than expected. I obviously couldn't tell you in that letter, I knew that you had another Hogsmeade weekend coming up and I had planned on surprising you. Then I got the news about your father, I had no idea how sick he was, and I knew you would be here so I came to tell you and you know the rest of the story," Lucius didn't want to make her relive the story of how he found her, nearly frozen in the garden. That had been a terrifying sight; he was sure that she killed herself or at least died from the cold.

"Well, thank you for telling me I guess."

"You said you would love me no matter what I had done."

"That is before I knew that you had killed people Lucius!"

"Lower your voice; I don't want you to disturb your mother."

"How dare you try to tell me what to do, in my own home none the less?"

"I'm glad that you're feeling better."

"What?"

"Well if you can take such a shrill tone with me, I must assume that you a doing better."

"Shrill? I am not shrill!"

"Yes dear, you are."

"Do not dare call me dear, I am incredibly cross with you right now."

"You're cross with me?" Lucius let out a peal of laughter. The expression sounded so antiquated coming from such a young girl. Narcissa couldn't help but laugh as well; apparently she had found it quite as amusing as he had. They ended up laughing so hard that tears were streaming down their faces and they were gasping for breath.

"I love you very much, no matter what you have done," Narcissa ended up saying between bursts of laughter and wiping away the tears.

"I love you too."

Lucius wrapped his arms around Narcissa again, he was glad she had forgiven him. That night Lucius slept better than he ever had, his beloved enveloped in his arms just felt right.

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><p>The night was majestic; she woke feeling refreshed and relaxed. Then all the previous night's events came rushing back to her. She buried her face in Lucius's neck, not only had she acted like a fool last night, but her dear father had passed. This meant that funeral arrangements would have to be made and Narcissa would not be able to return to school until that was done with and who knows how long that could take. Narcissa readied herself for the day; she picked out a somber square necked cocktail length dress with ¾ length sleeves, and she left her platinum hair flowing down her shoulders.<p>

"Lucius darling, you need to wake up," Narcissa said shaking his shoulders. He just rolled over with a snore; it was very hard to wake Lucius up once he was asleep so Narcissa decided to just leave him alone. He would wake when he was ready and he would find her. Narcissa walked into the hall and it had a completely different air than normal, everything just felt so sad.

"Elsie," Narcissa called for one of her house elves.

"Yes miss," she replied coming to her aid immediately.

"I would like a cup of tea, not too strong please."

"Yes miss, right away miss," the elf bowed. Narcissa walked to her parent's, no, her mother's room and she gently opened the door to see her mother sprawled on the bed still in last evening's clothing and an empty bottle of firewhiskey on the night stand. Narcissa closed the door quietly; she knew her mother would never want anyone to see her in that state. Narcissa found that she started to do the duties of the mistress of the house. While her mother was in her stupor, Narcissa inspected the cleaning to make sure it was done correctly, made sure lunch was being prepared at the right time, and she took it upon herself to organize her father's study. She wanted it to be preserved in the way she remembered it, and she did not want any of the elves to touch her father's things.

Around one o'clock, Lucius came downstairs in fresh clothing.

"Good morning, my love," Lucius said walking over to where she was staring out the window and kissed her forehead.

"I am glad that you are finally awake, I did not think I would be seeing you until tomorrow evening," she chuckled leaning into his chest.

"What have you been doing since you've been awake?"

"Nothing much, my mother is still asleep and I did not want to disturb her so I took on her duties for the morning. It was rather satisfying; it is also great practice for when we live together."

"Yes it is, I'm very glad that you're excited," Lucius said stroking her hair.

"I think that we should start planning our wedding," Narcissa stated, "I want to have it in the winter; it is my favorite time of year."

"Whatever you want is fine with me, I just want you to be happy."

Narcissa continued to look after the household duties, her mother did not come downstairs until late in the evening when Narcissa and Lucius were eating dinner and deliberating over the perfect date for their wedding.

"Oh hello mother, may I get you anything to eat?"

"Yes Narcissa, please, I am quite hungry," Narcissa could smell the alcohol on her mother's breath but did what she was told.

"So, what are we talking about?" Druella asked, wearily putting her hand on her forehead.

"Lucius and I decided to start planning our wedding," Narcissa said nonchalantly sipping some red wine.

"Really, so soon aft- so soon?"

"Well, we just figured that we love each other and we might as well be married as soon as possible," Lucius said with a grin. Narcissa glared at Lucius, he really should just have just let her handle this herself.

"Suddenly, I do not feel so well anymore. I think I am just going to go back up to bed, goodnight."

"Thanks a lot Lucius," Narcissa hissed after she heard her mother's door close.

"What I was just trying to engage in some friendly conversation."

"Her husband just died, she does not want to hear about how in love we are. You should have just said that you were tired of a long engagement. I am sorry Lucius; I do not mean to snap at you. I am just tense. I have had a lot to deal with in the past few days."

"I am sorry too my love, I should have taken her feelings into account."

The next few weeks went the same way as that first day had, Lucius did not stay the night every single night and he did have to go to work and do the occasional duty for the Dark Lord but other than that it was domestic bliss. The only problem was that her mother hardly ever left her room, that worried Narcissa but she knew her mother was too proud to ask for help. The morning of her father's funeral was somber, Lucius had taken the day off of work and Druella had left her room. Narcissa could not stand all the people giving their condolences.

"Half of these people hated my father because of the way he conducted his business and a quarter of them do not even know him. They are all vultures," Narcissa hissed into Lucius's ear after the 100th handshake and pitying glace she had received.

"So Cissy, when are you going back to school?" Narcissa heard a soft, strong voice from behind her and she worked to not let out an audible sigh.

"Hello Bella, I am not sure when I am going back to school yet. Mother needs me," she said giving her eldest sister a peck on the cheek.

"She does not need you, but you need to decide something. Are you going to stay at school and finish your education or are you going to drop out and 'help mother'," Bella asked with an inquisitive eyebrow, "Just something to think about, I should probably go pay respects to father," Bella bounced away.

"She did not even sound upset at all, it is like she does not even care that our father is dead," Narcissa said aghast, "She has no respect." Near the end of the line of condolences, Narcissa saw a tall figure in a long black dress with a thin black veil draped over her head. Narcissa was positive about whom it was, and she did not want to bother Andromeda or call attention to the fact that her disowned sister broke the cardinal rule of being disowned.

"Is that-?"

"Yes, it is Andy. Do not go over there, do not acknowledge her. I do not want to make a scene."

"Anything you say Miss Black," Lucius whispered in her ear, he loved the strong, in power woman that Narcissa had become.

"Bella is right about one thing though," Narcissa said after everyone had left, "I do need to figure out what I am going to do about school, it's almost November and I have missed a lot of school. I do not know if I could catch back up in my schoolwork."

"Cissa, you are terribly bright. You could catch back up in an instant."

"Okay, let me rephrase that, I do not know if I want to go back. This is more carefree and relaxed than I had ever been. I do not want to go back."

"If you're sure, you could write a letter the headmaster."

"I think that I am going to do that, I do not think I could go back to school. Not after staying here for so long. Anyway, I think that I want to have our wedding in January. This January the 26th I think, that seems like a good date to be married."

"So soon? How in the world are you going to plan a wedding in a little over three months?"

"Well I already know almost everything I want; all I need is your opinion on things and now that I will not be returning to school I have even more time to work on this. I think we should do it!"

"If you feel up to doing this, I have no problem, and as for my opinion whatever you want if fine with me."

"Okay fiancée, just remember you said that," Narcissa smiled, kissing the top of his head, "We should probably start working out a guest list though."

"I don't care who you invite."

"Yes you do! We need to make a list, my mother, your parents, Severus, Bellatrix, all of your friends from school…" Narcissa trailed off trying to think of other people.

"What about your friends?" Lucius asked, shocked that she hadn't brought them up.

"Lucius, I did not have any friends besides you and Severus. Well, I guess Violet also counts, but I have not spoken with her for a long while," Narcissa said thoughtfully.

"You didn't have any other friends?"

"I was too tied up in my studies or my boyfriend. Or, I did not want to bother with the silly trifles of teenagers; we will need to invite my aunt and uncle, Orion and Wallburga, and their two children, Sirius and Regulus." The guest list sprawled on and on until they had around four hundred people attending.

"Are you sure this isn't too much? Where could we even have this large of a wedding?"

"Well if it was not too much trouble, I know that the gardens at Malfoy Manor are pretty extensive and I thought we could have it there."

"That sounds perfect Cissa; this is why I need to leave all the planning to you."

The next three months were the most stressful times she had ever lived through. Every single person she spoke to from the caterer to the band was shocked that she was getting married so soon. Even the seamstress that was creating her dress thought that she was crazy for trying to plan a wedding in such a short amount of time.

"Tell me again why I am here?" Bellatrix sighed.

"You're here to tell me how beautiful I look in my wedding gown and also as my maid of honor, you need to try on your dress."

"Why does it have to be…Lavender?" Bellatrix asked slipping into the sheath dress with a deep V neck.

"Because you look beautiful in lavender," Narcissa said from behind the curtain she was changing behind. The wedding gown was simple, an off white with delicate straps and a flowing skirt that billowed behind her when she walked.

"Wow, Narcissa you look like an angel," Bella sighed when her sister walked out.

"Really you think so?"

"Yes, I do," Bella said hugging her sister. Narcissa was surprised; moments like this did not usually come with having Bellatrix for a sister, but Narcissa was grateful because she loved having a sister she could actually share these moments with. Wedding planning was not as blissful and fun as Narcissa had expected it to be. In the past several weeks alone Narcissa had lost weight from all the stress, and her dress looked much better when you couldn't see the outline of all of her bones.

"You need to eat more, you look very scraggly. Like a stray dog," Bellatrix said. Obviously the moment was over, but Bella was right, Narcissa looked like her dress was wearing her.

"Take me out to lunch then Bella; I think that Italian food would be a great way to fix the walking skeleton," Narcissa said, back behind the curtain taking the dress off. The two sisters had a relaxing lunch and Narcissa managed to squeeze more wedding planning into the lunch. When Narcissa finally arrived back home, she had conformations for the caterer, the band, the florist, and the photographer.

"You're finally home then?" She heard her mother's voice from the dining room.

"Yes mother, I am. I wished you could have come; you have not attended a single fitting. How are supposed to know if your dress fits?" Narcissa said wandering towards her mother, who like usual, had a large glass of some sort of alcohol in her hand.

"When is your wedding again?"

"January 26th mom, just like I told you yesterday, and the day before," Narcissa sighed sitting down.

"You do not need to take that tone with me, I am still your mother and you still have to obey me," Druella said slamming the glass down on the table.

"I am sorry mother; I did not mean anything by that. It would just mean a lot to me if you decided to come. I am going to go to my bedroom, there are things I need to do," Narcissa said getting up from the table stiffly and walking up the stairs. Why could life never turn out the way she wanted?


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This is another POV switching chapter, and it will be more than just Lucius and Narcissa, some POV's will be short others long. I hope you enjoy the chapter, it encompasses the day of the wedding and the wedding evening. I hope you love this chapter as much as I love you people! Love!

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><p>I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,<br>A church filled with family and friends.  
>I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,<br>He said one that would make me his wife.  
>~Author Unknown<p>

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><p>Bellatrix hated the way the dress looked on her, lavender may have gone with her complexion but not her personality. She still couldn't believe that her sensible younger sister had consented to marry such a bastard. Of course he was almost the Dark Lord's right hand man, almost. Bellatrix had that position sealed up nice and tight, her unwavering loyalty and sadistic attitude had suited his purposes well. The lavender dress would have to do; unfortunately she couldn't make alterations without incurring the wrath of her petite sister.<p>

"Bellatrix, your sister is asking for you, something to do with her veil?" The fierce voice of her aunt was chilling even when she was not being yelled at.

"Thank you, Aunt Walburga, I will attend to her at once," Bella said slipping into her ivory peep toe high heels.

"Here we go," Bella sighed to herself trying to weave through the maze of rooms in Malfoy Manor.

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><p>Not meriting an invitation to the "wedding of the century" was not surprising to the middle Black sister; she was after not technically a part of the family any longer. She was however quite touched when she received not only a letter from Narcissa, but also a letter from Lucius. They both expressed their wish that she could be there but why she couldn't. Andromeda understood why she couldn't be there but she could not say there wasn't the tiniest speck of hope.<p>

"Andy, what was the owl?" She heard her husband's voice from the kitchen.

"It's from Narcissa, Ted, A letter talking about her wedding, expressing her apologies that we couldn't come."

"That's wonderful, I'm glad she's staying in touch. Come in here, I need help if I am ever going to finish this pumpkin tart," her husband walked out of their kitchen covered in flour and chocolate. Andromeda walked over to Ted and kissed his cheek.

"Come on, before you destroy our kitchen."

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><p>Best man duties were far less stressful that Severus had anticipated. It mostly consisted of running around getting Lucius the things he needed and passing conversations between the bride and groom. Severus had grown tall, but he still really hadn't grown into his nose, for today though he had managed to slick his hair back to give the entire outfit a neater look.<p>

"Severus, will you get me something to drink? My mouth is getting terribly dry and to tell the truth I am getting rather anxious. I don't want to make a fool of myself," Lucius asked inspecting and fixing his collar in a full length mirror.

"Sure thing, I'm getting you water though. I don't want you falling over drunk when you're waiting for Narcissa."

"I know how to hold my liquor Sev, but fine get me water, let me have no fun," Lucius said sighing. Severus made his way to find a house elf, he knew he would never be able to find the kitchens himself, when he decided to check in on Narcissa. He didn't bother knocking but after he opened the door he wished he had. There standing in the middle of the room was Narcissa in frilly, ivory lace underwear.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I should have knocked!" Severus said averting his eyes.

"I do not mind Sev; actually Bella is out doing who knows what but I do need help getting into my wedding gown," Narcissa said smiling and batting her eyelashes at her great friend, "Please?"

"Fine, fine, where is it?"

"It is hung up on mirror behind me, how's Lucius?"

"Lucius is doing wonderfully," Severus said sliding the chiffon and lace dress off of its satin hanger. He brought the gown over to Narcissa and she gently slipped into it. Severus helped slid it up her pale skin and pulled the straps up and over her shoulders and tried to tie a bow at the small of her back.

"What kind of bow is this? It is so lopsided and floppy looking!"

"Well, next time don't ask for my help then."

"I am sorry Sev; I think it's lovely that you are willing to help me. I just want to look perfect."

Severus undid the bow and this time he did it up using his wand so it came out perfectly like Narcissa wanted.

"Thank you Sev, I am eternally grateful."

"You're very welcome Cissa, but I need to go. I was supposed to be getting Lucius a glass of water; I'll see you when you're walking down the aisle." Severus gave Narcissa a peck on the cheek and with that he was gone. If this was any indication of how the day would turn out, it was going to be a pretty great day.

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><p>"What do you mean you cannot find my flowers?" Narcissa shrieked trying to restrain herself from attacking her sister.<p>

"Well, they were over here with my flowers and my shawl and- Oh there they are!" Bella cried as she pulled her crumpled shawl off of Narcissa's bridal bouquet. Narcissa sighed and held her hands out for her flowers, it was now or never. The cascading bouquet of white Casablanca lilies and white roses trailed down to her waist, and happened to set her whole look off.

"Well Narcissa, it's time to go," Bella said as she led her sister out of the room and to the staircase where the processional would begin. When the music started and people began to walk down the stairs, Narcissa was overcome with sadness. This was the first time she stopped to dwell on the fact that her father would not see her be married, or give her away. She had to blink back tears as she started to proceed down the stairs. Once she saw Lucius though, she could not be happier. Her face lit up and it was all she could do to stop herself from running straight into his arms. The rest of the wedding went by in a blur; she remembered lots of congratulations and many photographs but nothing else. It was getting late and the party was still transpiring, when Lucius and Narcissa decided it was time to leave for their honeymoon. Narcissa had planned it all and they were going to a large villa in the South of France. After unpacking and settling in, Narcissa took Lucius on a tour of the villa.

"And, this is the bedroom," Narcissa said throwing open double doors into a large airy room with a plush bed. Lucius pulled Narcissa into a passionate kiss, while untying the bow on the back of her dress. He slid her dress down and pulled back so he could see how beautiful she looked. Narcissa took this moment to wrench the buttons of his shirt open. Their bodies collided together again, Lucius's lips roaming to Narcissa's soft, pale neck. Lucius moved his lips down to her clavicle, his tongue tracing the slightly protruding bone. Narcissa moved her hands to undo the button on his trousers, and she felt him hard and stiff under her deft fingers. Lucius scooped his bride up and laid her done on the bed, ravishing her face and torso with gentle kisses. He slipped her lace underwear off, and flung them off of the bed.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Lucius asked pausing before entering her.

"Ready as I will ever be," Narcissa said trying to prepare herself for what came next. The pain was intense; she had to bite down on Lucius's shoulder to keep her from screaming when he first tore into her. She was sure she had bled places, and would be sore the next morning. When it was all over and done with, she found that it was not too unpleasant of a feeling. She actually felt quite satisfied and knowing that it would not be that painful again gave her great hope for later experiences.

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><p>AN: So this was obviously my first attempt of writing intimacy into my story, I hope it wasn't too awkward for you, but I was trying to make it as realistic as a first time as possible.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hey, I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update. A family friend recently passed, so I have had other things on my mind. This chapter will probably just be a short one because I don't really feel up to writing a lot just yet. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Love!

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><p><strong>Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river. ~Malagasy Proverb<strong>

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><p>When Narcissa awoke, she felt sore. Not in a terrible painful way, but a tense soreness when she moved in certain directions. She turned her head to the side and immediately panicked; her husband was nowhere to be found. The thoughts in her head roamed from terrifying to ridiculous. He had been called away for duty in the dead of the night or that he had finally gotten what he wanted from her and decided to leave her. As soon as that thought entered her mind, she felt guilty. Lucius had changed; he was not "that guy" anymore.<p>

Narcissa got up and walked as gingerly as possible to the closet to see if she could find any type of clothing in it. Fortunately, there were several things to choose from so she slipped on a thigh length dark purple robe and decided to explore the villa. She found her husband poring over parchments on a small table in a room that had to be the kitchen.

"Hello husband," she said sliding her hands down his arms and kissing the side of his neck, gingerly nipping at the soft flesh.

"I would be very okay if you greeted me like that every morning," Lucius said with a slight chuckle as he pulled her from her waist into his lap. They sat there for several minutes, kissing and laughing. Narcissa felt the inevitable growl in the pit of her stomach.

"Mmm, I'm hungry," she said laying her head down on his chest, "Is there any food in the villa?"

"There are some croissants on the counter, they're fresh. They should probably still nice and warm. Grab me one?" Narcissa slid off of his lap and grabbed the plate and placed it on the table. This time, Narcissa sat in her own chair, very close to the croissants. She picked one up and started nibbling at the edges, the warm buttery bread melting in her mouth.

"So, what are you working on?"

"Something for the ministry, I'm just trying to find some consistency in- yes, there we go. I found it, perfect this is just what I needed," he said holding two pieces of parchment side by side.

"Are you going to be working all day?" Narcissa pouted popping the last piece of croissant in her mouth.

"Probably," He asked pulling out a quill and writing notes on a new sheet of parchment, "Why?"

"Because we are on our honeymoon, and I thought we would be doing things other than me watching you work," her voice was curt. Lucius sighed and looked up from his work.

"I'm so very sorry, what is it that you would like to be doing?" He asked, sarcastically at first even though his wife had a very valid point.

"Well we are in the south of France; we could stroll through the markets, we could wander along the beautiful beaches, or we could…" Narcissa blatantly looked at Lucius and untied the front of her robe.

"Mmm… We could most definitely start with that," Lucius said standing and removing his shirt simultaneously. Narcissa stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, this time they did not even make it to the bed. He sat her on the counter and took her there. It was still slightly uncomfortable for Narcissa, but it definitely felt more comfortable, and pleasurable. Narcissa felt a building feeling somewhere below her stomach, as they continued Narcissa felt it growing until finally it exploded. After what seemed like hours of coming down from that high, Narcissa felt totally exhausted. Narcissa laid her head down on his chest, kissing it gently, while he finished.

"Will you hand my robe?" Narcissa asked hopping off of the counter. Even though it was full of pleasure, Narcissa was exhausted. She slid the robe back on and tied it in an artful bow.

"I think I am going to go lay own outside, maybe go for a swim," Narcissa said walking to their bedroom to find something to wear, "If you want to join me feel free, if you need to work I understand." Narcissa changed into a pure white bathing suit, grabbed a book and made her way out onto a chaise lounge. Not to Narcissa's surprise, Lucius was outside in a manner of moments.

"Hello Husband," Narcissa said scooting over so he could lie down next to her.

"Hello Wife," Lucius said letting her curl into his arms. The two of them napped on and off over the next several hours. The rest of their honeymoon was very similar to that first day, relaxing and blissful.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: It's hard to get back into the swing of writing, school is being very school-like and I have had lots of tests this week. This will probably be another short chapter, as I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but who knows maybe it will mutate into an epic. Love!

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><p>"<strong>Loneliness is about the scariest thing out there." Joss Whedon <strong>

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><p>The first night back from their extended honeymoon was strange for Narcissa. She had visited Malfoy Manor before, but it was her first time staying the night. The first time she ever thought that one day she would be the mistress of Malfoy Manor, that it would be partly hers. That first night, instead of sleeping, she was stretched out on the bed contemplating her new life and stroking her lover's hair. She loved his hair, soft as corn silk and the color of moonlight, if she could sit all day just stroking and twirling pieces of his lovely hair. Narcissa wanted to curl up next to him, but was afraid she would disturb his slumber, so instead she simply gazed at his face. Even though his eyes were closed, she could detect little movements here and there and every so often his eyes fluttered slightly, to where they were almost open. She moved her gaze from his eyes to take in the rest of his face, the long thick eyelashes, the perfectly sculpted cheekbones, finally to his soft pink plump lips. Occasionally he mumbled words that were incoherent to Narcissa. Why was he so perfect? She always felt so plain next to him.<p>

Not caring for his slumber any longer she snuggled up to his chest, laying her head down in the crook of his elbow. She threw one of her thin arms around his neck and adjusted herself until his cheek was pressed against the soft tender flesh of her bosom. This was the perfect position for Narcissa, as she was adequately positioned to stroke his hair and kiss the top of his head at her will. This was how Narcissa finally passed into slumber, her full red lips resting on his head. When she woke the next morning she found her arms empty and his side of the bed cold, while Narcissa was getting used to the fact that she always woke up alone, she wished that just one time he would stay with her until she woke up. After all, it wasn't her fault he woke up at such ungodly hours in the morning.

It took her some time to find the closet that housed her clothing. On the honeymoon she had gotten used to waking up and greeting Lucius in naught but her skin. The Manor was much different, not only were there large congregations of house elves everywhere one looked, but also his parents lived there as well. The mere thought of running into Abraxas while nude sent shivers down her spine, and not in the good way. She slid a thin white slip on while she tried to figure out what to wear for that day. Taking deliberate steps to the balcony, she threw open the doors to gauge the temperature on the off chance she decided to leave the Manor for the light of day. It wasn't exactly warm, when the sunlight hit her skin she felt herself heating up but then the gentlest breeze would blow through the sky and graze her skin lightly. Narcissa gently shut the doors and made her way back to her closest, and picked out a pale pink sundress and pulled it over her slip.

Now that her clothing was taken care of she brushed her hair and decided to make her presence known to the rest of the household. Her feet made a satisfying noise as she propelled herself along the white marble floors. When she reached the dining room she found no other signs of life, not even a house elf. How late had she slept? A quick glance to the ornate clock told her that it was only 10:27, so where was everyone? Narcissa couldn't even hear voices until she heard this faint little sound, almost a yelp coming from the adjoining room. There she saw Antonia and Abraxas slumped on the floor, dead, her eyes snapped up and she saw him, the kind and wonderful master with his hand tangled in her husband's hair. She tried to make a noise, she tried to run to him but it seemed as if she was frozen on the spot. Narcissa stood there and watched, she heard the words so alien to her ears, and watched the green light consume the room.

Narcissa woke with a start and snapped her head up. She was still safe in the confines of her own bedroom; her husband lay safely in her arms where she left him when she fell asleep. It was only a dream. She buried her face into Lucius's neck taking in everything she could, feeling him, smelling him and even tasting him. She needed to know that he was there, and that he hadn't left her. The thought sent her spiraling into a sobbing fit that seemed to last for hours. Lucius awoke to his little wife's shaking body and the wet, hot tears that covered his face. Narcissa felt his strong arms wrap around her and hold her tightly, and it took quite some time for her to calm down. Once she was past hysterics, she retold her dream in perfect detail.

"I am so afraid, all of the time."

"You have no reason to fear my love; we are on the right side, the side that will win."

"I have no care for winning, or losing. The only thing that matters to me is that you are safe, and right now with the things that you do, the assignments you carry out, you are not safe. What if I were pregnant? What if you left and never came back and I had to care for our child all by myself?"

"I would never let that happen my love, come on, let's go down for breakfast." Lucius took her hand and pulled her from the bed. He walked to their closet and slipped a pale green dress for her to wear off of a hanger. He dressed quickly, took his wife's small hand in his own and they sauntered off to breakfast. Lucius' words may have been soothing but Narcissa still feared for him. Every moment of every day that he wasn't with her, she would fear for his safety until he was returned to her gentle embrace.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Hello all! Tdwtrulz1022, to answer your question I have had something planned for Violet ever since I wrote her in. It's scandalous and I'm sure from this everyone will be able to guess what it is, but until it happens my lips are sealed! I hope you enjoy this update, Love!

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><p>Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult. ~ ANNE RICE<p>

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><p>It was one of those nights, Lucius was away on a mission and Narcissa had to somehow distract herself from the incredible fear that overcame her every single time she thought about him. She decided to visit Andromeda, something Narcissa hadn't done since her sister's baby girl was born. Narcissa readied herself quickly, dusting on light blush and donning a dark pair of trousers and a tasteful ivory blouse. Walking the appropriate distance away, she disapparated to the small cottage and knocked on the door.<p>

"Hullo," the charming voice of a man that had to be Ted, Andy's husband. He opened the door and his expression changed from a cheery smile to a look of utter confusion. Narcissa had never met Ted, even though it was a great wish of her sister.

"Ted, who's at the door?" Narcissa heard her sister's voice faintly coming from some back room.

"I'm not exactly sure Dromeda," He called back over his shoulder, "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but have we met?"

"Don't worry; you're not being rude at all. We have not met, I am Andromeda's sister," Ted's face blanched and Narcissa knew that Andy must have told him about Bellatrix as well, "Narcissa." The clarity brought the color back to his face instantly.

"Well, please come in, may I get you a cup of tea?" He asked closing the door.

"That would be wonderful," Narcissa said graciously.

"I'll just take you back to your sister," he showed her the way to a small nursery painted in a shade of pale pink. Andromeda was standing with her back to the door, gently swaying the bundle she had in her arms.

"Andy," Narcissa said tentatively walking through the doorway.

"Narcissa, I can't believe you're here!" Andromeda turned around and managed to hug her sister with one arm while still supporting her baby girl with the other.

"So this is Nymphadora?" Narcissa asked, staring at the violet eyes and turquoise hair of the baby in front of her.

"Yes, isn't she just precious? She's a metamorphmagus, obviously, since she didn't inherit the turquoise hair from either of her parents. Would you like to hold her?" Andromeda offered her baby to Narcissa, a confident smile on her face. Narcissa gingerly accepted the little girl and held her close. Narcissa had never really thought about having children, she knew she would have to in order for the Malfoy name to live on but she just figured the child would be raised by nannies and house elves like she had been. Now holding her sister's daughter in her arms, she felt a little flutter in her heart, and she knew that she wanted a child. She and Andromeda spent the entire rest of the evening playing with and cuddling the child. It was late, probably near midnight, when Narcissa bid her last farewells and disapparated home.

When she arrived at Malfoy Manor, Lucius was still not home so she tried to make herself content by getting ready for bed slowly; deliberating over small details she normally did not. After combing her hair for the fourth time, she heard the door to the bedroom creak open and saw Lucius slumped in the doorway covered in blood. The horrified scream that escaped Narcissa's lips did not last long; Narcissa quickly helped Lucius to the bathroom so she could clean him up and heal him. After pulling his shirt off to examine for the source of the blood, she heard her husband mumbling.

"Not my blood," she heard him say faintly.

"What?"

"It isn't my blood," Lucius's voice was louder but still shaky. Whatever happened had shaken him. Narcissa took a washcloth, dampened it and started cleaning the blood from him. It took almost an hour to clean him up and to change him into clean clothes. Narcissa curled up into him on the bed and noticed that throughout the night he woke up several times with a start.

The next morning Lucius seemed completely normal, like the last night never happened.

"Good morning my love," He said kissing Narcissa's temple, where she was at the table eating a small breakfast.

"Good morning husband," She said entwining her fingers with his, "How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing very well this morning."

"Would you like to talk about last night?" She was so worried about her husband, he was a strong man but there is only so much that people can take before they reach their breaking point.

"No, I'm fine. Really, Narcissa, I'm fine," He said cupping her chin with his hand," Let's talk about something else."

"When do you think we should start trying to have children?" Lucius spluttered on his tea.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Children, they are small, have pudgy arms and are squishy."

"I know what children are, but when did you decide that you wanted them? I thought that you didn't want them."

"My body is betraying me, I was playing with a baby yesterday and I decided that it was actually cute and that it would not be too awful if I had one." Narcissa expected to chuckle at her and tease her, but instead she saw his knuckles whiten around his silverware.

"Whose baby was it?"

"Andromeda's baby girl, Nymphadora," Narcissa saw his eyes sharpen and his shoulders tense.

"Why did you go over there? I thought that you severed contact with her long ago."

"I went over there because she is my sister and nothing that she does will ever change that fact. I went to her because you were gone, off to who knows where doing who knows what. I do not want to be alone all of the time, and you are always gone," Her voice had raised and octave but it was still powerful, and for once Narcissa did not feel like backing down.

"You have no business speaking to me like that. Everything I do is for our family, everything. If you don't understand that then we have no business speaking to each other."

"Fine," she said icily and the look on his face showed that he didn't expect her to stand firm in her argument. She stormed away, frustrated tears streaming down her face. She slammed their bedroom door, not bothering to lock it because she knew he would either use magic or break it down. Narcissa curled up onto the bed, pulling a thin blanket around her shoulders.

"Cissa, may I come in?" Her husband had switched his voice back to the calm, gentle voice he normally used with her.

"It hardly matters what I say, you will come in either way," She said, her voice cracking.

Lucius walked through the doorway, fully prepared to continue their argument, but at the sight of his wife lying curled up in the middle of the bed with tears streaming down her face, his heart melted. He walked over to the bed and sat down gently next to her, pulling her up by her shoulders and adjusting the two of them until she was sitting on his lap with her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, or upset at all even. I just worry about you when I'm gone, and the fact that you were with your sister is wonderful, I just don't know how safe you are with her. Her husband and child being what they are."

"How can you say that so cavalierly? That is what I am not getting here, she is my sister I should be able to just see her whenever I want to," She sighed, more tears spilling onto his shirt.

"I'm not saying that you can't spend time with her, I just want you to be careful. I love you and I would hate to see you hurt." He wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, just wanting to protect her. They lay like that for a while, until Lucius spoke again.

"So kids, huh?"

"Yes, 'kids' I want them, and you are going to give them to me," She said kissing his jawline. She twisted herself around in his lap, so that she could have easier access to his lips. She twisted her fingers in his hair and brushed her lips lightly on his, he pressed his lips urgently against her own lightly nipping her bottom lip.

"So you want to start on that right away then?" He chuckled pulling away from her. The comment brought such a fit of giggles from Narcissa, that for her the moment was over.

"You need to get to work, I love you," She kissed his forehead and rolled off of him so he could leave. She decided that she would visit Diagon Alley today, getting out of the house would do her well. Narcissa was wandering around Flourish and Blotts looking for a new potions book; even though she wasn't studying anymore she still liked to keep up with what was going on.

"Narcissa, is that you?" She heard a voice from behind her call out. She turned around to see that Severus was standing before her.

"Sev, oh my goodness! What are you doing here? You should be at school, right?" She questioned throwing her arms around his neck.

"No, its August 30th school starts in a few days," He said chuckling at her.

"Oh wow, I must have lost track of the days. Are you excited to go back to school?" Their conversation lasted for a long while; they even accompanied each other to lunch. When Narcissa came home, Narcissa had to search for Lucius. She found him in their library, swilling scotch and reading a book in a high-backed burgundy chair. Narcissa slid into a chair next to him and taking his hand.

"Good evening husband," Narcissa said pulling out her own book.

"Hello wife," He said kissing her hand.

"I was wondering if you would accompany me for dinner this evening," he asked her closing her book.

"I always accompany you for dinner, Lucius."

"No, I want you to go out to dinner with me, at some sort of restaurant, probably French."

"I would love to, should I dress up?"

"Yes, I would like for you to look impeccable."

"Should I wear the dark blue dress?"

"Wear whatever you feel is appropriate, go and get ready," He said kissing her hand once more. Narcissa sauntered off to the room she had converted to a closet for her needs. Narcissa sifted through the evening gown section, until she found a very suitable dark blue gown with a halter neck and a flowing skirt. She twisted her hair into a simple French twist and adorned it with a crystal flower; she slipped her feet into a pair of silver strappy high heels.

"Are you ready to go?" She head Lucius's voice calling to her from the hallway.

"Yes, yes I am," She said swinging the door open.

"You look positively stunning, my dear," He offered his arm to her, "Shall we?"

"We shall," Narcissa said giddily taking his arm. It had been such a long time since they had gone out together, and she was positively thrilled. They reached the zone from the manor that it was safe to disapparate from. The pair was transported to an alley that seemed to be somewhere on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Lucius guided her out of the alley into the restaurant; they were seated in a corner table in the back, completely isolated. After ordering a red wine Narcissa decided it was time to question her husband.

"So, what are we doing here?"

"Eating dinner, it's a common new trend. All of the cool kids are doing it," he fidgeted with his hands and kept twisting his wedding band around his finger.

"What in the world are you so nervous about?"

"Well, I invited someone else to dinner, because that person requested to meet you."

"Who's coming, your mistress?" Narcissa giggled and Lucius just stared back at her, "Oh god, you are not that stupid are you?"

"No, I don't have a mistress. That's ridiculous. Can't you just wait to see who it is?" Lucius asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Fine," Narcissa said sipping her wine. When the third guest arrived, their dinner was just brought out and Narcissa was on her second glass of wine. She only looked up from the table when she heard a chair scrape against the floor. Narcissa snapped her head up to look at the newcomer, her face blanched when she saw whom it was.

"Good evening Lucius, Mrs. Malfoy," A handsome man with pale skin and dark brown hair.

"Good evening My Lord," Lucius said with a small bow of his head.

"Good evening," Narcissa barely whispered sipping her wine. After the waiter came back and took the handsome man's order, obviously not knowing who this man was, polite small talk was engaged. Lucius seemed so comfortable, so at ease, with Him, the man who just murdered whomever he pleased. Narcissa was polite, ever the lady, but she was terrified, terrified of the man whom her husband seemed to be around Him. When the painful dinner was finally over, it was time for farewells. Lucius bowed deeply, fortunately no one was watching, and He took Narcissa's hand and pressed his cold lips to her soft flesh.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"A pleasure for me as well My Lord" As he was walking away, and she had no idea what made her say it, but she called out after him, "Give regards to my sister Bellatrix." She kept the small smile plastered on her face as He turned around and gave her a look like the cat that ate the canary.

"Oh trust me, Narcissa, I will," and with that he was gone. After returning to Malfoy Manor, Narcissa felt no need to stand on any sort of ceremony and just kicked off her shoes, pulled the pin out her hair and dropped it on the floor, and finally stripped her dress off and let it pool around her feet. When she got to the bedroom she just collapsed into bed, and it wasn't until she was mostly asleep did she realize that Lucius's warm body was not lying in bed next to her.

The next morning, Lucius still was not in their bed; Narcissa was now in a state of panic. She pulled on a robe and was tying it when she was walking out the door and she ran straight into Abraxas.

"Good morning Narcissa, fancy seeing you around here," She was sure that he was referencing the fact that the entire time she had lived there; she had not run into him once.

"Good morning sir, have you seen your son?"

"No I can't say that I have, you can try the library."

"Thank you very much have a wonderful day," she said bounding down the hall in a very unladylike way. She threw the door open and was disheartened to find that Lucius was not there. She searched the Manor all day and most of the evening, but he just wasn't there. That evening Narcissa was anxiously pacing around the entire Manor when she heard the front door open. She ran to it and when she saw his face she threw herself into his arms.

"Where have you been you stupid selfish man?" She asked breathlessly, not releasing her arms from around his neck.

"We'll talk later," He said gruffly pulling her out of his arms. He stalked away, leaving Narcissa with a bemused expression on her face. Narcissa followed after him, she didn't understand why he was so angry with her.

"Lucius, what is wrong with you?" She asked once they had entered their bedroom.

"There is nothing wrong with me; I just want to go to sleep."

"Where were you, why did you not come back after dinner?"

"I was doing a job, can we please just go to bed."

"Fine, but you know I am not a fan of the secrecy. I do not want to be kept in the dark any more, if you are leaving I want to be able to say goodbye to you, just in case. You will tell me the next time you leave. End of discussion."

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled rolling over and giving her a kiss; he untied the bow on her robe and slid it off of her shoulders.

"Really, ma'am? What an awful thing to call me," She mumbled into his neck in between kissing it. After that comment, there was basically no more talking. Lucius took her slowly and gently at first but as time went on; all Narcissa wanted was to hear him calling her name, so she took over. She slowly grinded her hips against him in little circular motions, and took his lips in her own and grazed her teeth over his lips. This only encouraged him more; he pounded into her harder, making her moan his name. She raked her fingernails up and down his back, no doubt leaving marks; all she wanted was just this, forever.

"Mmm… Lucius," She sighed tracing his lips with her tongue. She felt her entire body tense up, and had to bit into Lucius's shoulder to stifle her scream. Not long after she finished, he finished also, coming to the same crescendo of an ending that she had. Narcissa slid on to the top of him, and curled up onto his chest. Her feeling in that moment was perfectly content.

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><p>AN: So, wow, this chapter mutated into epic proportions. I just couldn't stop writing. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did! Love!


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: So here I am, back to updating! First off, thank you for the favorites, the follows, and the reviews, you all give me a reason to keep writing. Secondly I would like to clarify that there will be no infidelity of any kind (at least not in the coupling of Lucius and Narcissa, I can't promise that Bella will be faithful to her future husband. Whoops did I just give something away? Oh well.) Thirdly, I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter, this story has become my baby and the fact that there are so many people that are invested in my baby as I am makes me swell with pride. Love, Love, Love, Love!

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><p><strong>If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing. ~Saint Augustine<strong>

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><p>The weeks blended into months, and the months into one year. One year that Lucius and Narcissa lived calmly and without unrest. He continued working in the Ministry and for Him, there were some nights that Narcissa couldn't sleep and that Lucius showed up covered in blood. One year that the husband and wife lived in what seemed to the outside world to be bliss. One year that they had tried, and failed, to conceive a child.<p>

"What if there is something wrong?" Narcissa mumbled, her head was in her arms and her voice cracked as if she was crying. Lucius rested his hand on the side of her face, trying to coax it out of her arms.

"Nothing is wrong my love, it will happen soon."

"You said that seven months ago. It still has not happened, there is something wrong," she said whipping her head up. She immediately regretted taking such a tone with her husband; it after all wasn't his fault, probably.

"Everything will be okay," he whispered softly kissing her tear stained check, "I promise." It was hard not to take his word for it, he was so unbearably confident. Narcissa was still skeptical though; there was a nagging voice in the back of her head that said that there was something wrong, something wrong with her. Lucius moved his soft kisses from her cheek down to her neck.

"Lucius, really, now is not the best of times. I'm going to go for a walk," she said pulling herself away from him and standing up.

"Would you like any company, my love?"

"No, I need some time by myself. To gather my thoughts," she felt bad just leaving him like that but she just needed to be alone. Even though they had been together for five years, married for two, she still hated crying in front of him and saved it for very special occasions. The most recent being the passing of her mother, after her father died her mother never recovered. Narcissa only took solace in knowing that her mother no longer spent her days in a drunken stupor and was hopefully somewhere with her father.

It was windy and rainy outside, but that didn't deter Narcissa one bit. She wandered through the vast gardens, the wind tangling her hair and the rain soaking her to the bone. She loved spending time with her Lucius but his disgustingly optimistic attitude made her feel sick. He was so confident that there was nothing wrong that she couldn't help but believe it was her. For some reason, even though she wanted nothing more than to have a child, her body wouldn't let her. Narcissa heard loud arguing coming from inside the manor, it seemed to be coming from the foyer that led into the garden. Narcissa wandered back over because there was no one in the Manor to argue with, unless you count Lucius's parents but he never argues with them.

"You can just show up whenever and wherever you please," she heard her husband's voice shout at the stranger.

"I can do anything I damn well please. You cannot tell me what to do," she heard a female voice shriek, a voice that sounded remarkably familiar.

"Damn it Bellatrix, this is my house and you can't just waltz into it."

"Am I wrong in the assumption that my younger sister is a Malfoy, meaning that this is her home also?"

"You are not wrong but did she invite you?"

"Not exactly," Narcissa heard Lucius chuckle, "But I do have news. Where is she?"

"I'm not sure, she went for a walk and-"

"WHAT? YOU LET HER OUT IN THIS WEATHER? HOW DAFT ARE YOU? DO YOU WANT HER TO DIE?" Narcissa heard a loud smack and she hurried up the stairs and threw up the French doors.

"Calm down Bellatrix, I am fine," Narcissa said rushing to her husband. His left cheek was bright red and he looked like he was about to use an unforgivable curse on her sister.

"Why did you come here?" Narcissa asked as house elves appeared with towels so she could dry herself.

"I have news for you."

"A letter would not have sufficed?"

"Not for this particular news. I thought you would be happier if you found out in person. I'm engaged."

"Engaged to what?"

"To be married you dense girl."

"To whom?"

"What, is it such a ridiculous notion that someone wants to marry me?"

"Yes," Lucius mumbled loudly enough so that everyone could hear him. Narcissa had to stifle a giggle, but gave her husband a disapproving look.

"If you must know I will be marrying Rudolphus Lestrange," Bella said with a haughty air in her voice, "He proposed last night."

"I did not even know you were seeing Rudolphus."

"I wasn't but he asked me and I decided that I should settle down at some point, and it might as well be with a respectable person." There was sadness behind Bella's eyes and Narcissa noticed that Lucius had an intense smirk on his face, like he knew something she didn't.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Narcissa asked, after all it was only polite.

"No, thank you, I should be going. I have things to attend to," Bella turned on her heel and left. As soon as she had disapparated, the two made their way up to their bedroom so Narcissa could change into dry clothing. As soon as the door was shut, Lucius busted out laughing.

"Whatever in the world is so funny?" Narcissa asked stripping her shirt off.

"Bellatrix is only settling for Rudolphus because she cannot have the man she really wants."

"That is not funny Lucius that is sad."

"It's funny if you know the man who she truly wants to have."

"Who would that be?"

"Guess," Lucius said placing his hands on the bare flesh of her hips and pulling her towards him.

"Stop," Narcissa said giggling and pulling away, "Is he another Death Eater?"

"No, but close."

"Can you please just tell me?" Narcissa pouted sliding into a satin nightgown.

"The Dark Lord," Lucius almost whispered as if he was afraid someone would hear.

"What? No!" Narcissa said, dropping the robe she was about to put on.

"Yes," Lucius said, "Let's go have some dinner."

"I'm not too hungry, just tired, I think I will go to bed. Enjoy your dinner," she said and then kissed his lips goodnight. Once Lucius left, Narcissa rummaged through her desk drawers looking for her stationary. She wrote a quick note to a healer requesting an appointment for the next day.

"Dobby," Narcissa called for the house elf.

"Yes Miss?"

"Take this letter to Aylen and send her to St. Mungos."

"Yes Miss," he bowed and walked away. Narcissa needed this appointment; she needed to know if she would be able to have a child. She slept fitfully until it was finally daylight. She got up and ate a quick breakfast, Lucius had already left for work, and got ready. She slipped on an olive green tunic and black leggings. She didn't bother to straighten her hair like she normally did and she wore a pair of large black sunglasses. It sounded ridiculous, but she didn't want anyone to notice her. If someone was to see her and tell Lucius and he found out that she went behind his back, he would be devastated.

The appointment was awkward for Narcissa; she had gone to school with the woman that was checking her out. Once it was over, Narcissa curled up on the chair while she waited for her healer to get the results back to her.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I have the results." Narcissa snapped her head up and wrapped her arms around her chest; she was so worried that they would hold bad news.

"Yes, okay, I am ready. Please tell me."

"Well physically you are just fine. No sickness or disease to worry about, in fact you are incredibly healthy. For some reason however, your body seems to reject pregnancy. I cannot tell you why, but I can tell you that there is a very slim chance that you will ever be pregnant. If by some miracle you do become pregnant, there is close to no chance whatsoever that you will carry the child to term." The words hit Narcissa like a freight train, she felt a roaring in her ears and before she knew it her face was covered with very warm tears that burnt her eyes. She would never have children. She would never hold her baby close to her chest and sing it to sleep. She would never be a mother.

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><p>AN: Wow, what a depressing way to end this story. Hope you liked it anyway!


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hey, I understand how some people were very upset with the last chapter. I was too, I promise. Everything is going to turn out wonderfully, obviously. I always just thought there would be a reason that the Malfoy's only had one child because they seem to love him so much, so I just figured in my brain that there probably was a reason she didn't have a whole gaggle of babies. I also believe that is the reason that they spoiled him rotten and loved him so greatly and such. I hope you enjoy this new chapter, Love!

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><p>Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. ~J.K. Rowling<p>

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><p>The pain was so intense; it was a dull ache in the pit of her stomach and right at the forefront of her mind. How would she tell her Lucius? All that he wanted since she first brought it up was to have children. He would be heartbroken. Narcissa left in tears, after hearing that nothing could be done and how sorry the Healer was. She wandered to a safe location and disapparated back home. All of the house elves were trying to help the poor inconsolable Miss; she just was curled up on the floor of the foyer sobbing.<p>

"Miss, would you like any tea? May I help you to your room?" All Narcissa could hear was a blob of squeaky words mashed up into one. Narcissa could have been crying for minutes or hours, she had no idea, but she did know that she tried to fix herself up when Lucius came home.

"What's wrong my dear?" He asked lifting her up by the elbows and wiping her tears away with his hands. Narcissa collapsed into his arms, staining his shirt with her tears.

"I-jus-um… I need to speak with you," she struggled trying to get the words out while remaining somewhat composed, "Let's just go to the kitchen, I need a drink." He grabbed her hand and helped her to the kitchen. She poured herself a large glass of wine and she took a small bowl of raspberries out of the refrigerator. She took several large gulps before she could begin the painful conversation.

"So Lucius, I went to go see a Healer today. I just wanted to affirm that I would be able to get pregnant one day. She administered some tests and then I received the results. She said that for some unknown reason my body rejected pregnancy and that's why I had not gotten pregnant yet. She sa- said that it was very unlikely that I would ever become pregnant, and if I were to become pregnant there was almost no chance that I would carry the child to term," she barely got out the last few words before she broke down and started to sob again. Lucius' face was a mixture of grief and horror; he wrapped his arms around her petite shoulders, and Narcissa could be wrong but she thought she felt tears falling on the top of her head, the back of her neck, and her forehead. Sure enough when she pulled away, his face looked wet.

"Would you like me to take you to our room?" Lucius asked gingerly. Narcissa nodded and when Lucius thought Narcissa wasn't looking he wiped the tears off of his face. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed and laid her gently upon it. He changed her into some nightclothes and tucked her gently in their bed, making sure she was all covered up so she would be warm during the night. Narcissa was so genuinely touched by the affection that she started to cry again, he would have made such a wonderful father and it wouldn't feel right to deprive him of that chance.

"Lucius," she whispered, rolling over to face him.

"Yes?"

"I want you to leave me, you would be such a wonderful father and you need to have that chance. I also know how important it is to carry on the Malfoy family na-"

"Don't you dare. You cannot lay there and tell me to leave you. I am not with you because I want to have children; I am with you because I am in love with you. Children or no children, I want to be with you. I don't need kids if I'm with you." Lucius kissed her on the forehead and that ended their conversation, a large part of Narcissa was so relieved that he had said that. She had no idea what she would have done if Lucius had left her.

The next morning Narcissa was warm and happy until the memories of yesterday flooded back to her. She smelled something sweet and strong and sat up, only to see that there was a small table with a great breakfast laid out. There was a letter sitting on one of the empty plates, and it was from Lucius letting her know how much he loved her and how he wished he could be there with her right now. The breakfast consisted of fresh fruit, waffles, and other assorted items. It was a really sweet thought of her husband, but she had absolutely not appetite. All she wanted was to have children, and she would never get that chance. She had planned to stay in, but she made a last minute decision to visit Andromeda.

"Andy," Narcissa pounded on her sister's door after apparating there, "Andy, open your door!"

"What in the world are you pounding and shouting for?" Andromeda snapped when she opened the door. Andromeda looked deadbeat and she had a crying Nymphadora in her arms.

"I wanted you to let me in," Narcissa said slipping past her sister, "You look frazzled."

"Wow, great observation," Andromeda said dryly, "Dora decided she would stop sleeping, so that means I haven't slept in about two days."

"Go take a nap, I'll take care of her," Narcissa said reaching her hands out to her niece.

"Oh thank you so much Cissa," Andromeda said handing the child over and kissing her sister on the cheek. Narcissa took Nymphadora to her nursery and played with her for hours, not even tiring of the silly little games.

"You're wonderful with her," Andromeda said a few hours later, "When are you having babies of your own?"

"I will not be having any babies."

"It's your husband isn't it? He doesn't want to be tied down by children." Narcissa cut Andromeda off.

"No, it's me. I am not able to have children, Lucius actually does want children but because there is something wrong with me he will never get that chance," Narcissa said her voice full of hurt.

"I'm sorry Narcissa, I had no idea…"

"Yes, and you just assumed that it had something to do with my husband."

"Well he isn't the best of men is he?"

"I have no idea what you mean."

"He is a MURDERER," Andromeda spat in Narcissa face.

"How dare you," Narcissa drew herself up to her full height, "insult my husband in that manner."

"Well, it's true. Your husband is disgusting, and the fact you seem to be blinded by that disgusts me!"

"I am not the one married to dirty mudblood filth."

"Get the hell out of my house right now. GET OUT!" Andromeda screeched ripping Nymphadora from Narcissa's arms. Narcissa stormed out of the tiny house and disapparated away. She hated that she was fighting with her sister, but she wasn't in the mood to take any insults about her husband or her lifestyle. It did pose an interesting question; she knew that Lucius had killed people and had no qualms about it. Why was she okay with that? They were mudbloods and muggles, but they still had families and people that loved them. If Lucius was fine to keep doing it, she would be fine to let him and she would continue to clean up the mess that was left.

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><p>AN: Yes I will use any possible opportunity to use a quote by the queen herself, can you blame me?


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Hey everyone! So I am very sorry to tell you all that I am suffering from time jump syndrome. I mean honestly, there isn't much stuff that I can do without skipping time, if I just went through the day to day stuff you would all get bored and stop loving me. I would also get bored and stop regularly updating and then I would hate myself and it would spiral out of control. Okay so, the gist is that it is a four and a half year jump. In that time Narcissa has had no contact with Andromeda, Lucius continued being an awesome Death Eater, and Narcissa has been coping with not being able to have a baby. Hope you enjoy as much as ever, Love! P.S. I hope you don't hate me for skipping this much time, but I think this chapter will make up for it a lot!

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><p>Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside. ~Rita Rudner<p>

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><p>Things were tense around the Malfoy home; Lucius hadn't been home in a few days, off on some job for the Dark Lord. Narcissa never felt at ease when he was gone and the elder Malfoy's were always nowhere to be found. Narcissa had to fend off Ministry workers and errant people asking for favors, and to top it all off she was starting to have slight flu symptoms and it wouldn't be long until she had the full blown sickness.<p>

"No, Lucius is not here. I will let him know you came over, thank you. Have a nice day," she said for the fifth time that day. Narcissa shut the door and feeling the few crackers she tried to eat about to come up. She ran to the bathroom for what seemed like the fifteenth time that hour and expelled the contents of her stomach until her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat. Narcissa once again heard the sound of a knock at the door.

"My god, how in the world can my husband be so popular," she thought as she dragged herself off of the floor and to the door. She opened the door and received a shock.

"Andy? What are you doing here?" Narcissa whispered with a dry throat.

"Narcissa I need your help."

Narcissa pulled Andromeda into the house and took her into the casual sitting room.

"What's wrong Andy?"

"There have been small things that have been left on our porch, things that were mine when we were kids. A few dolls, some dresses. It is sort of freaking me out, I think Bella found out where we live."

"Well, you need to move. Soon, Bella will not be satisfied with terrifying you for very long."

"I'm just afraid that nowhere will be safe from her."

"It could not hurt to try," Narcissa said. As soon as the words left her lips, she felt herself start to feel sick again. She ran out of the room with Andromeda close on her heels.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I am starting to get the flu," Narcissa said leaning up against the wall.

"I'm so sorry sister," Andromeda said wetting a washcloth and wiping the sweat off of her sister's forehead. They stayed in there for an hour longer, with Narcissa feeling incredibly ill. She did start to feel better though and had much gratitude to her older sister.

"Thank you for staying with me Andy, I am very grateful."

"Of course Cissa, you're my sister. I will always help you. I think I'm going to take your advice, just pack up Dora and Ted and get out."

"Go now. I do not want you to keep your family in danger; I promise to keep in touch. My owl will find you." Andromeda kissed the top of her head and was off; Narcissa just hoped that Andromeda would leave in time. She managed to make it into the dining room and eat some food, and keep it down. She stumbled to bed and dropped on it without bothering to change her clothes or get under the covers. The next morning, Narcissa woke up with Lucius at her side.

"Good morning wife," he said leaning over to kiss her. Narcissa lurched out of bed and didn't keep the remnants of her dinner in her stomach.

"Are you alright?" Lucius asked her with much concern in his voice. Narcissa glared at him.

"Do I look alright? I have been sick, my back aches and I have been have dreadful headaches for two weeks."

"You should go see a healer; you should get something to clear up the sickness," Lucius said helping her stand up.

"I truthfully do not know if I could make it," she said leaning her head against the wall.

"You should at least try; I just want you to feel better."

"Fine," Narcissa said standing up, "You need to help me get ready though." Lucius helped her change her clothes, put her hair back, and wash her face. Lucius walked her to the area where she could disapparate.

"Would you like me to come with you?"

"Yes," Narcissa said resting her head on his shoulder, "I would like that very much." Lucius took her arm and disapparated with her, and helped her walk into the building.

"What seems to be the problem?" the Healer asked after they had been placed in a room.

"I have been sick for a few weeks; I have had a headache, and a backache."

"Well it sounds like you have the flu, but would you mind if I ran a few tests?"

"Not at all," Narcissa said, "Lucius do you mind waiting outside?" Lucius kissed the top of her head and left, and Narcissa was subjected to several tests.

"I have the results of your tests, and you don't have the flu."

"Oh god, is it serious? Please tell me that I am not dying, my husband could not take that."

"No, no you aren't dying. You aren't even sick; I have some very different news for you." Narcissa was shocked to hear the news; she walked out of the room with a bemused look on her face.

"Are you ready to disapparate home?"

"Well, actually no. I do not believe that we should disapparate, would you like to take a walk home?" Narcissa held her hand out to Lucius.

"Narcissa, are you alright? Please tell me you aren't sick."

"No my love, something much more serious," they walked in silence for around twenty minutes until Lucius finally said something.

"So what's wrong," Lucius said with a semi choked up voice, he was so afraid that there was something seriously wrong with her.

"Lucius, if I tell you something do you promise not to freak out?"

"Well it depends, I mean if-"

"Do you promise not to freak out?"

"I promise my dear."

"Lucius, I'm pregnant."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Hey, yeah it's been a while and I'm sorry. School is difficult when they actually want you to do things. Oh well, I'm updating now. I keep saying this, but I hope I will be more consistent with updating.

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><p>It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons. ~Johann Schiller<p>

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><p>"You're what?"<p>

"Pregnant, expecting, with child etcetera," Narcissa said stopping on the sidewalk and looking into his eyes.

"How did this happen?"

"The normal way I would expect."

"You know what I mean Cissa."

"I have no idea, but I am guessing it had something to do with a miracle," Narcissa said taking her husband's hand, "We should go home, it is getting chilly outside." Lucius immediately pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his little wife's shoulders. There was no way he would let anything to the child she was carrying because they would likely not get another chance.

"I still need to be very careful; nothing too strenuous on my body and walking is pretty much the only mode of travel that I will allow myself to take. I refuse to take any chances with this baby."

"How long have you been pregnant?"

"It has been about four months; I'm surprised that the two of us had no clue, I am already starting to show." Narcissa was right, if someone took the time to look at her and she was not wearing a bulky coat you could see the small rounded bump on her stomach.

"I just thought you were finally gaining a little bit of weight," Lucius said with a playful grin on his face.

"How dare you," Narcissa said smacking him in the arm, "I am not that big yet."

"You will be."

"Oh god, you're right. I am going to be huge; I'll need all new clothes, none of mine will fit me anymore. Bella's wedding, oh god, her wedding is in two and a half months and I am going to be the size of a plane," she groaned putting her head on his arm.

"You'll still be so beautiful."

"What is Bella going to say? She better not yell at me for getting pregnant right before her wedding."

"If she does, I will yell right back."

"I do not want you to risk your life by yelling at the sociopath. My baby will need a father."

After getting home, Narcissa wrote two letters, one to each of her sisters, and sent them off. Lucius left to his study to work on something, presumably for the ministry, and Narcissa was left on her own. After a large, lonely meal Narcissa decided that she would need to sleep at some point. She was just so worried that at some point in the night she would roll over and crush her precious baby. She slipped on her favorite nightgown and to her dismay she found that it was shorter than it used to be.

"Stupid expanding body," Narcissa muttered. Her nightgown had always been considerably shorter than was strictly considered decent, but the length of it now could be considered shirt length.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked strolling into their bedroom.

"I can't even fit correctly into my favorite nightgown, and this is only the beginning. I know that I'm being ridiculous, that it is just a nightgown but it isn't the only thing. Soon none of my favorite clothing will fit me and… and its okay. I cannot believe that I am making such a fuss about my clothes, when I am going to have a baby. A baby that I thought I could never have, and I'm worrying about clothes," Narcissa felt awful. In the general scheme of things she was incredibly lucky, and she should not worry about such trivial matters.

"Tomorrow, you can just go out and get all new clothes. Then you will have new favorites and you will not have to worry, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, can we just go to bed?" Narcissa asked peeling off her nightgown. She rummaged for a short while trying to find something else, but finally just slid between the covers without pulling anything else on.

"I like the way you're thinking Cissa," Lucius said leaning over to kiss her neck.

"Sorry husband, that would be too strenuous and I would hate for anything to happen to the baby."

"So I have to wait until the baby is born."

"Somehow I think you'll manage. I have to push something that is potentially ten pounds out of my body, but yes it is awful that you will have to live five months without sex." Narcissa hated going to bed angry but she just couldn't help it, he had no idea what she would be going through.

It had been a few weeks since the couple found out about the pregnancy, Andromeda had sent a happy congratulatory letter but Bellatrix had never responded to the letter. Lucius was gone when Narcissa woke up, and he hadn't left a note. He must have still been angry about their fight from the previous night. She donned a pair of leggings, and out of the norm just slid on a robe without putting on a shirt. If she was going to be all alone in the house she didn't feel the necessity to dress up. She had entertained the notion of going shopping, but she just felt tired and not at all in the mood to leave her home.

Narcissa heard a small noise off in the distance, that sounded like a noise when a person apparates. It was too early for Lucius to be home, and she hardly knew anyone else that would come over. Just a few moments later she heard pounding on the door, instantly regretting her choice of outfit, Narcissa left her comfortable chair to answer the front door.

"So it's true, you are pregnant."

"Good morning to you too Bella," Narcissa said letting her older sister in.

"I guess congratulations are in order, is Lucius the father?"

"How could you say something like that Bellatrix? Of course it's Lucius' baby, I would never cheat on him."

"Well, that's a shame. Congratulations anyway, this really does create a problem. You'll have to wear a different type of dress than I had pictured, but that's okay because children are some sort of miracle or something," Bella said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm so sorry that my pregnancy is inconvenient to your loveless marriage."

"Apology accepted, get dressed. I have a dress fitting today and I suppose we need to fix your dress to accommodate your expanding waistline." Narcissa was terribly offended but nevertheless changed into a suitable dress that had always been just a bit too large and was now just slightly snug, but fit her better than the rest of her clothing. It did, however, do nothing to hide her growing stomach so now everyone would know of her pregnancy.

"I'm ready," Narcissa said wandering back into the foyer. Bellatrix was messing with a decorative knife that was in a cabinet.

"Come now Bella, we mustn't touch what isn't ours," Narcissa said pulling her sister away. Bellatrix started to ready herself to disapparate.

"Sorry Bella, we cannot disapparate. The pregnancy is very fragile and if I use any dangerous method of transportation, it could kill the fetus and then Lucius would probably kill you. Would you really want that right before your wedding?" Bellatrix sighed with frustration and glared at her younger sister.

"How in the world are we possibly going to travel almost thirty miles? You cannot honestly expect us to walk there, right?"

"No, I figured we could take a car."

"Muggle transportation, really, you want me to take muggle transportation? I would never degrade myself that much."

"Well then, I guess I will not be going. Have a great time at your dress fitting all by yourself." Less than five minutes later, Narcissa had hailed a cab and the two of them were on the way to the boutique. Bellatrix was glaring at her sister the entire fifteen minute ride.

"I cannot believe that you made me do that," Bella said after the pair got out of the car.

"Just think you get to do it all over again once we are through."

"No, I won't. You can go home in that contraption and I'll go home my own way." Bella said as she pulled open the door to a seemingly empty store that had for rent signs posted all over the glass. The boutique was small and there were several dresses being sewn magically in all corners of the room.

"Oh, Bellatrix, there you are. This must be your sister, Narcissa," the immensely tall woman with shocking red hair that went past her waist, pulled the sisters into a warm embrace.

"Yes, we are," Bella said stiffly. She was not the type of person to welcome physical contact.

"Well, let's get this show on the road!" The seamstress said cheerfully, "Bellatrix, I'm going to need you to strip down so I can put you in your dress." Bellatrix truly seemed un-phased getting mostly naked in front of an almost complete stranger. Narcissa remembered when she went in for her dress fittings she blushed the entire time and it took her nearly ten minutes to get out of her clothing. Bella, however, just stripped like it wasn't any sort of deal at all.

Narcissa did have to admit that her older sister looked stunning in her gown, even though it slightly too large or small in various places. It was champagne colored, corseted back, mermaid style dress.

"Okay, we need to fix it up here and here, but for the most part it looks wonderful. Sister, it's your turn now." Narcissa got up with a sigh, but hopefully she wouldn't have to take her clothing off because the entire dress would need to be changed.

"Obviously we cannot go with my original plan, because my sister went and got herself pregnant, but I do want to stay within the same color."

"What color would that be?" Narcissa asked nervously.

"Red, of course," Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Well, we can most definitely do that. Maybe if we went for a Grecian style, one sleeved and chiffon so it won't be so structured against her body and emphasize the baby bump more than necessary."

"That could work; do you have anything similar that she could try on?"

"Unfortunately not right now, but when you come back for your next fitting I will have the basic line of the dress whipped up and the only thing I'll need to do is let some room out for the baby."

The seamstress took some of Narcissa's measurements and Bellatrix's also; the appointment could not have lasted more than thirty minutes, but it was very comprehensive.

"Do you want to get lunch?" Narcissa asked her sister after they were out of the shop.

"No thanks, I am meeting my fiancée for lunch. Thanks for coming Cissa, I had a wonderful time," Bellatrix said, surprising Narcissa, and reaching out to grasp her shoulder. Narcissa's sister had such a hot and cold personality; she can be psychotically evil and such a caring sister at the same time.

Narcissa stopped by her healer; she wanted to constantly make sure her baby was okay. The appointment didn't last very long, but Narcissa received some very exciting news. Narcissa returned home at around one in the afternoon, and much to her surprise Lucius was home.

"What are you doing home?"

"Oh, I can't even come home for lunch to see my wife anymore?" Lucius asked accusatorily.

"I'm sorry Lucius; I'm just not used to seeing you home so early. It's nice that you came home though," Narcissa said, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Don't be sorry. I am the one that needs to be sorry. I've been acting like an ass, and now I'm leaving for a while and I just wanted this to go differently."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I will be away for perhaps a month, hopefully less time though."

"Is it for…Him?" Narcissa whispered. Lucius just responded with a nod of his head. Narcissa was devastated; she was so worried about him. He would be gone for so long, and something could happen to him and he would never meet his baby.

"Lucius, before you go there is something that I need to tell you."

"Yes, of course, anything," Lucius said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"The baby is a boy. You're going to have a son." Narcissa saw Lucius's face light up with joy; he reached out and put a hand on her rounded stomach.

"A son. I'm going to have a son," he said with pride and tears in his eyes.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I am remembering to write, like a pro! I have a three day weekend this week, so I will hopefully be able to update again before next week begins. This is going to be a long chapter! I hope this chapter is super special for you all, because it sure was for me. Love!

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><p>Women's bodies have near-perfect knowledge of childbirth; it's when their brains get involved that things can go wrong.<p>

PEGGY VINCENT

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><p>"Yes, a baby boy," Narcissa said putting her hand on his. Narcissa felt that she had to let him know, she wouldn't feel right letting him leave without knowing.<p>

"That's amazing, I am so sorry that I have to leave you. I wish I could stay, but you know I have to leave. You know I can't just defy the orders."

"Yes, I know. I love you Lucius," Narcissa said kissing his forehead and getting up to go to the dining room.

"I love you too," Lucius said loudly enough so she could hear him while he walked through the front door. Narcissa ordered one of the house elves to bring her a late lunch. Narcissa ate quietly, feeling lonely. What she really needed was something to take the feeling of loneliness away when Lucius was gone. With a decidedly matronly thought, Narcissa decided that she would try to take up knitting. It would be great to put her beautiful baby boy in handmade scarves, hats, socks, and mittens. Of course as soon as he grew enough he would be wearing only the finest clothes possible, knitted clothes were only cute it was a baby wearing them.

The first attempt was disastrous, the socks came out less like socks and more like misshapen kidneys.

"This is ridiculous," Narcissa snapped throwing the needles and misshapen kidneys at the wall, "I do not need to make my baby things, he will love me anyway." Narcissa swept all of the yarn and other supplies off of the table, knitting was not her forte. What she really felt she needed was something that she could care for, her obvious first answer was her unborn child but she needed some form of comfort soon. Then the idea sprang to her mind, she would find herself a pet. Sure she had owls and one beautiful canary, but you couldn't cuddle a canary.

Narcissa went to her bedroom and changed into one of the new outfits she bought that would actually fit her correctly. It was a royal blue sundress that flowed out to her knees, and she wore a pair of black flat shoes. She walked out of her home and strolled into the populated muggle area so she could get a taxicab into London. The cab ride only took about a half an hour and then she was in London. As much as Narcissa hated to admit it, she quite liked muggle London. It was fast paced and exciting but she would never be able to bring herself into any of the stores, she preferred to have all of her clothing tailored to fit her exactly.

She did not, however, like having to walk through the Leaky Cauldron to get into Diagon Alley. It was filled with an uncouth bunch, normally those who couldn't afford the higher class establishments that were offered. She made her way quickly through, not bothering to stop and talk to the people she once went to school with that tried to get her attention. She first went to Gringotts to get a bit of money out of their vast vault, and then she went to Flourish and Blotts to pick up a new book or two. After she was done with that, she started making her way to find out where she could buy herself a pet when she ran into a person that she did not expect.

"Violet?" Narcissa said stunned at seeing her best friend, Violet turned around and Narcissa saw a little baby in Violet's arms, "Oh my gosh, you had a baby! I had no idea that you even got married!" Narcissa saw immediately that this was not the right thing to say because her face flushed and her eyes welled up with a little bit of tears.

"Yes, I had a baby, her name is Pansy. I was never married, once her father found out that I was pregnant he…" Violet trailed off, too embarrassed to continue, "I see that you're pregnant."

"I am so sorry," Narcissa said putting her arm on Violet's shoulder, "Your little girl is beautiful. Yes, I am pregnant; I am having a little boy." Narcissa couldn't help but beam at her own statement, she was still so happy to be having a baby.

"Who knows, maybe one day our babies will fall in love," Violet said with a little smile. Narcissa smiled also, but couldn't help but want more for her baby than to end up with Violet's daughter. It was a terrible, awful thought and Narcissa felt bad about it but she couldn't help but want more for her baby boy. They exchanged some mindless chitchat and then Narcissa excused herself, she wanted to leave the awkward situation as fast as she could.

Narcissa wandered from store to store until she found what she was looking for, it did not look like a very popular store but it had a variety of animals in cages all along the walls. Upon walking in, she was hit with the odor of many animals. There were many owls, several white blonde ferrets, and a few cats and Narcissa felt drawn to the cats. There were a variety of colors and sizes so it was difficult for Narcissa to choose, until she saw a skinny yet fluffy ginger cat with a torn ear and a stubby tail.

"May I help you?" A gruff looking saleswoman asked walking in from the back room and up to Narcissa.

"I was looking to get a cat, and I really like this one. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"He's a boy, are you sure you want him. He isn't very pretty; we have some fluffy pure white cats on the other side of the wall, do you want to look at them?"

"No thank you. I like him, and I would like to take him home, thank you very much," Narcissa said with a dismissive attitude. The saleswoman gave Narcissa a look and then opened the cage and pulled the abused looking creature out and dropped him into Narcissa's arms. After Narcissa found a suitable cat basket and purchased the two items she needed and went on her way home. The cat kept mewling and shaking the basket on her ride home so much that the driver kept staring at her.

When she got the cat home she brought it to her own personal library and ordered one of the house elves to bring her some milk to give to the cat. She let him out of the basket and he sniffed around the room before he curled up in a sunlit spot on a chair.

"Alastair," Narcissa said petting her new cat after deciding his name. The next few days she felt less lonely cuddling and playing with her new cat but after a while she got lonely again, a cat was no substitute for human interaction. Her only option was to search around the Manor until she found either of Lucius's parents and have a conversation with one of them. She scooped her cat up and wandered around until she found Abraxas' study and gently knocked on the door.

"Abraxas?" She asked, gently knocking on the door. It swung open and Abraxas looked surprised and happy to see her.

"Narcissa, I hardly ever see you around this house. How have you been? I see you got yourself a cat," He said stepping aside so Narcissa could enter the room. He pulled out a chair for her to sit in and sat down in a chair himself.

"I have been very well, I have missed my husband, of course, but I am trying to cope. Obviously," She said chuckling and gesturing to the ginger cat in her lap, Abraxas also laughed and reached out to pet the cat.

"Well, I am glad that you are trying to relieve your loneliness. Congratulations on the pregnancy, I am so happy for the two of you," Abraxas sounded like he was going to say something else but it was covered by a rough cough.

"Abraxas, are you all right?" Narcissa asked with her voice full of concern.

"Don't worry yourself Narcissa, I am completely fine."

"Well I am glad for that. The baby is a boy by the way, I thought you should know." Abraxas met that statement with a beaming smile and then his body was racked with another cough.

"Are you sure that you are okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I really do need to get back to what I was doing before you interrupted me; I hope to see you again soon." Narcissa was stunned at Abraxas' shortness but left nonetheless.

The next morning Narcissa woke up and was unsurprised to see that she was lying alone in her bed with her cat, again. She decided that she was going to relax herself by taking a soothing bath. She ran the warm water and once it was full she slipped in. She bathed for nearly an hour; she cleaned herself up first and then drained all of the water and filled it up again so she wouldn't be lying in the dirt that was cleaned off of her body. Once she was finally done with her bath, she tried to get out but she slipped on the remaining water that was in the bathtub.

The pain hit her side first and then travelled up her back and to her stomach; she was in a lot of pain but her only thought was on her baby. Either barely any time at all had passed or she hit her head when she fell but the next thing she knew she heard Lucius's voice.

"Narcissa, where are you?" She heard Lucius ask, "And what in the world is that cat doing on our bed?"

"Lucius," Narcissa said weakly, she could still feel pain all over her body.

"Oh Narcissa, I have miss- Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?" Lucius ran to her when he saw her hand draped over the side of the bathtub.

"No, I fell. Hit my head, my side hurts, and the baby- Oh my god the baby. I fell, and what if there is something wrong with the baby." Narcissa shouted. Lucius wrapped his arms around his wife's neck and pulled her out of the bathtub.

"You need to get me to go see my healer," Narcissa said as he carried her to the bed.

"No, I am not going to waste that kind of time. I am going to disapparate and get her and bring her back, don't move." Lucius was gone in a flash so Narcissa reached over for hew wand that was on the night stand and summoned some clothing to her so she wouldn't be naked when the healer arrived. Narcissa was impressed with her husband's urgency; he was back with the healer in less than ten minutes.

"So what seems to be the problem Mrs. Malfoy?" Her healer asked placing her hands on Narcissa's stomach.

"I slipped and fell; I think I hurt the baby. Oh god if I hurt the baby…" Narcissa trailed off.

"Let me take a look and I will let you know, okay? As of right now there is no reason to panic," the healer reassured her. The healer pulled out her wand and started performing spells with Narcissa grasping Lucius's hand the entire time.

"Well I can tell you with certainty that your baby is fine. However, you do need to be much more careful. I would prefer if you stay mostly on bed rest and when you do leave the bed you should be accompanied so that if anything was to happen, there would be someone there to help you. Lucius, to you I recommend that you work from home as much as possible so you can be with your wife." Narcissa was so relieved, her baby was fine and her healer recommended that her husband stay with her, this was great news.

"Thank you so much, I will most definitely heed your advice," Narcissa said sliding up the back of her bed until she was sitting up again. The healer left after giving a little more instruction to keep healthy.

"Well I guess this means you're stuck with me," Lucius said lying down next to his wife.

"Yes, it does. It also means that you are stuck with me," Narcissa said lightly kissing her husband's lips, "Oh god, Bellatrix's wedding is in two weeks. She is going to murder me if I am not able to make it to her wedding."

"I am sure if you just explain it to- You're right, she is going to kill you."

"I guess that if I sit down right up until the ceremony and I am helped down the aisle, I could probably do it."

"Would you really put the baby in that kind of danger?"

"It's okay husband, I am going to be very careful." Narcissa could see that Lucius didn't seem too fond of the idea, but Narcissa felt like she had no other choice.

It was two weeks later and Narcissa was trying to help her eldest sister into her stunning wedding gown, but she had to keep sitting down because she was worried about the tiny pains she was having in her stomach.

"Really Narcissa, I would prefer that if you are in a lot of pain that you not try to suffer through my wedding. I would hate for you to mess it up with grimaces."

"Wow Bella, as always I can really feel the sympathy."

"It is my wedding day."

"Have no worries, I would never try to upstage you by going into labor at your wedding, besides that I am only seven months pregnant," Narcissa stood back up to help Bellatrix place the veil in her hair, "You look so beautiful sister, I am so happy for you."

"I guess it really isn't that big of a deal is it? It isn't like I'm marrying someone I love, like you did. This is mostly just duty, nothing more. I hardly even like Rudolphus, except for the sex, the sex is pretty fantastic."

"Oh Bella, gross, I do not want to hear about that."

"What, it isn't like you're some sort of blushing virgin. You are, after all, pregnant and I really only know of one way that can happen," Bellatrix said smiling wickedly.

"Okay, we are done with that for now. It is about time you start getting ready to walk down the aisle anyway," Narcissa said standing up and grasping a table for support when she felt some pain in her stomach. Rudolphus' best man came forward and grabbed her elbow; Narcissa was surprised to see that it was her very own Severus.

"Sev, wow, I haven't seen you in ages," Narcissa said wrapping her free arm around his neck, "How do you even know Rudolphus?"

"Rudolphus and I have worked together on some things occasionally," Severus said brushing off the topic, "Congratulations on the pregnancy by the way."

"Thanks Sev, I'm sorry we have been out of touch for so long it's just that-"

"You got busy, I understand. Come on, we need to start walking now," he said, adjusting his arms so he could support his heavily pregnant friend as best as he could. He nearly had to pull her down the aisle, because she was overcome by such stomach pain right as they began to walk down.

"Do you need for me to conjure a chair and put it behind where Bella will stand, I don't think you can make it," Severus whispered into Narcissa's ear, and she responded with a slight nod of her head. When the pair reached the end of the aisle Severus pulled out his wand and brought forth a comfortable looking armchair. Narcissa had a terrible feeling that Bellatrix would be angry at her, but she really felt as if she couldn't stand.

When Bellatrix strutted down the aisle, Narcissa tried to stand but found that she couldn't because she felt another sharp pain. Now she was starting to panic, the pain kept happening even when she was sitting. By coming to her sister's wedding she probably killed her baby and ruined the chances of ever having another. She did her best to look completely jovial for her older sister, and was thankful that she could pass the few tears that fell off as a mixture of hormones and her sister finally being married.

In the middle of the ceremony, if Narcissa hadn't been sitting down, she knew that she would have passed out. The pain she felt was so intense she was sure everyone saw her grimace and she nearly cried out. Her eyes flashed to the crowd to see if Lucius noticed her pain, and much to her displeasure he had. She shook her head slightly at him, as if to tell him that he need not worry about her but his expression did not change at all. Once the ceremony was over Narcissa congratulated her sister but informed her that she wouldn't be able to stay for the party because she didn't feel well. Bellatrix noted that her sister's hands were clenched and her face was white with and sheened with sweat, so she excused her younger sister.

"Lucius, we need to see my healer right away," Narcissa gasped in pain as her husband walked quickly toward her, "I am terribly afraid that there may be something wrong with our baby." Lucius' face was full of anxiety but he tried to clear it away so his wife would worry less.

"Do you think that you could last the ride there?"

"Well, I have managed to make it this far so I would assume so," Narcissa said with an eye roll.

"Really, now is not the time for sass," Lucius said putting his arm around her shoulders, "Do you think you can walk by yourself?"

"No, I don't" Narcissa sighed, then Lucius stooped down and put his other arm under her knees and swept her off of the ground, "You really don't have to carry me, I must be awfully heavy."

"It is no trouble; I just want to get you there as soon as possible." The cab ride was intense, Narcissa kept reaching over and grabbing her husband's hand and squeezing it until the pain was over. The cab ride seemed to take much longer than what she was used to, but finally they arrived. Lucius picked her up again and walked into the seemingly abandoned building.

"Let me see you Mrs. Malfoy," the healer said as she walked into the small private room, "And you said that you have been having these intense bursts of pain every so often, correct?"

"Yes, and they are becoming more and more frequent. Please tell me my baby isn't dead, please."

"Actually, quite on the contrary, I am going to tell you that you are in labor, and what you're experiencing right now are labor pains. Congratulations, there is only one stipulation. You are only seven months pregnant, which will make your baby two months premature and that could bring around some complications."

"Complications? No, my baby's life is already fragile enough. Could he die?"

"Sadly, yes, he could."

"What can you do to stop it? What can you do to ensure my baby's safety?"

"Nothing, the only thing we can do now is wait."

Narcissa was overcome with panic, which was only masked by the pain that cascaded through her body. A little over seventeen hours later the pain was more unbearable than Narcissa ever thought her body could go through.

"You are doing wonderfully Mrs. Malfoy, only a short while longer."

"You said that nearly four hours ago," Lucius said with a pained voice, it hurt him to watch his wife suffer without him being able to do anything to help her.

"Well this time it is actually true. Your wife just needs to push a little bit and hopefully your son will be born and he will be very healthy." At the healers orders Narcissa began to push and finally felt her baby leave her body, but was panicked when she did not hear any crying or words from the healer she was scared again.

"My baby, is he okay? Tell me what happened to my baby," She said weakly trying to sit up, only to be pushed back down by her husband.

"She left the room with him, I don't know anything that happened," Lucius whispered into his wife's ear. Many moments passed before the healer returned to the room with a bundle of cloth.

"Congratulations, you have a beautiful son."

"Give him to me," Narcissa sighed holding out her arms. Narcissa held her son very close to her and had trouble giving him to Lucius so he could hold his son.

"We need to give him a name now that we know he'll be okay," Lucius said gingerly holding his baby.

"Give him to me," Narcissa said holding out her arms, "Oh wow, he is so little, but strong. He is very handsome like his father."

"He probably will have a temper also, just like his mother," Lucius chuckled and Narcissa stuck her tongue out at him.

"We are going to name him Draco, Draco Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa said wrapping her arms tightly around her new baby.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Hello all of my lovely readers, so I forgot to update on Monday… Whoops. School has some sort of ridiculous expectation that I will actually pay attention to the work. It's ridiculous. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it is dedicated to all of you beautiful readers who keep me doing this. Love!

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><p>"Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children." ~Rosaleen Dickson<p>

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><p>Narcissa needed to recuperate after the birth of her son, but she didn't mind because she got to spend all sorts of time with her new baby. He might have been born earlier than he should have been, but he was still very healthy and very sturdy.<p>

"Who is a beautiful baby?" Narcissa cooed rocking her baby in her arms and kissing his forehead.

"Mrs. Malfoy, how are you doing today?"

"I am doing very well, thank you, and yourself?"

"I'm doing great. I am here to let you know that you can leave anytime you wish starting today."

"Well, thank you very much. I will be getting my things together and leaving immediately." Narcissa packed her things into her bag and checked herself out. Narcissa got herself a taxicab to go home, because she was worried about apparating with her newborn baby. Lucius's one and only job while she was recovering was to fix the room that connected to their own to make it appropriate for their baby boy, Narcissa was only hoping that he remembered to just that.

"Lucius, we are home!" Narcissa called out to her husband after walking through the door, "Are you?"

"Yeah Narcissa, I'm in our bedroom."

"I am so excited to see what you did with the nursery, I bet it is just wonderful," Narcissa felt as if she was bubbling up with excitement, Draco really boosted her spirits. Lucius had a shocked and horrified look on his face when she entered their bedroom.

"Do not tell me you forgot!" She screeched.

"Narcissa…"

"Dammit Lucius," this was one of the few times he had ever heard his well-tempered wife swear, "I gave you one job and you could not even accomplish that."

"If you would have let me finish," Lucius began, striding to the door to the nursery, "You would have known that I was trying to joke with you. Of course I fixed up the nursery, I am not completely inept." Lucius swung the door open and Narcissa looked at the room in wonder. It had been painted light celery green; all of the furniture had been painted a fresh looking white, and there was a stuffed dragon toy nestled in the corner of the elegant crib.

"Lucius, my love, it is so beautiful," Narcissa sighed contentedly leaning her head on her husband's chest, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my sweet, anything for you and our son. Anything," Lucius put much stress on the last word, so much stress that it worried Narcissa.

"Lucius what is going on?"

"Narcissa, He wants to see our son."

"What?"

"The Dark Lord," Lucius lightly whispered, "Wants to meet our son." Lucius felt his wife's breathing get shorter and heavier, this situation obviously was panicking her.

"What is He going to do?"

"As far as I know all He just wants is to see Draco."

"When is He coming?"

"Tonight," Lucius said lightly. Narcissa swallowed her fear and clutched her baby close to her chest.

"Alright then, I am going to put Draco down for a nap now so he won't be fussy when He comes." Narcissa slid under her husband's arms and into the nursery. She sat down on the rocking chair that was near her child's crib, and she rocked him and sung him a lullaby until he fell asleep. She laid her son gently down in his crib and then exited the nursery to speak with her husband.

"Millie!" Narcissa called, "I want you to stay in Draco's nursery with him, if he wakes up or cries come get me, immediately."

"Yes mistress," the house elf bowed.

"Lucius," Narcissa called but it seemed that her husband was nowhere to be found. Narcissa was so afraid for her baby, and for her husband. She didn't like Him, He was a bastard and she had enough of Him ruining her family's life. One day, she vowed, He would never touch her family again.

"Narcissa," it was a few hours later when she heard her husband's voice again, "Narcissa you need to get ready, He is going to be coming over here. Soon," Lucius said opening the door to the nursery.

"All right," Narcissa said standing up, "Will you take Draco for me so I am able to get ready?" She asked, handing Lucius her precious son. Narcissa left the room, assuring herself that Lucius and Draco would be fine with each other while she got ready. Narcissa shut herself away in her spacious closet, fully equipped with a vanity so she could do her makeup, so she could get ready. Normally Narcissa would do her hair and makeup by hand because it calmed her nerves, but tonight she felt that she did not have the time to do that so she used magic instead. Her skin was as pale as ever but she made it radiantly glow, she painted her lips a deep red, and gave herself a subtle cat eye. Her hair was pulled back to the nape of her neck, and it curled and hung down over her left shoulder.

She still carried a little bit of the weight that she gained while carrying her child, not so much that she couldn't squeeze herself into even her skimpiest of cocktail dresses, but enough that her hips were rounded out and her body was just more filled out everywhere. Instead of trying to force herself into a form fitting gown, she put on a royal blue chiffon, one shoulder cocktail dress that flowed out to her mid-calf. Even though she was in her own home she slid on a pair of black t-strap high heels, making herself taller so she could look Him in the eyes made her feel better.

"Lucius, did you dress him, or do you want me to?" Narcissa called walking back to the nursery.

"It's fine, I dressed him," Lucius said.

"Oh honey," Narcissa sighed when she saw her husband, "That has a stain on the back of it. You go finish getting ready and I will take care of Draco." She kissed her husband's shoulder as she took her son back from Lucius. Narcissa was so proud of her Lucius; she knew how hard he was working juggling all of the things in his life and still managing to be a great husband and father. Narcissa changed Draco into a precious royal blue onesie that almost perfectly matched Narcissa's dress. She was just swaddling Draco up in an emerald green blanket when Millie appeared.

"Mistress, the Dark Lord…he is here," she stammered bowing with her head low to the ground.

"Thank you for informing me Millie, show him into the drawing room. We will be with him in a moment," Narcissa then turned to her husband, "Lucius, if you will please escort me down the stairs." Narcissa offered her husband the arm that wasn't holding onto her precious son. Lucius took her arm and they braved the stairs together, Lucius with a pompous air that Narcissa shared but hers was covering the fear she felt deep in her heart.

"Hello Narcissa, Lucius," He said with a disgustingly charismatic smile. Narcissa was pleased to see that his skin was sallow and stretched taut over his bones, although it did give him a much more terrifying appearance.

"My lord," Lucius said inclining his head to his master.

"My lord," Narcissa murmured also with a slight inclination of her head, "Would you like a drink, perhaps some elf made wine?"

"That would be lovely," He said sitting in the seat that was usually reserved for Lucius. Lucius took the seat on His right and Narcissa sat with Draco across from the pair.

"Millie," she called for the elf, "The elf made wine and two glasses."

"You aren't drinking?" His voice gave her the chills, it was so cold, it sounded like it could cut glass.

"No, not with Draco being so young, it would not feel right," Narcissa said proudly, drawing her shoulders up so she was sitting with rigid posture.

"How commendable," He said taking a sip of the robust wine out of the crystal goblet, "How is the child?"

"Draco is doing very well, thank you; he is a very serious baby, very much like his father."

"Well I hope he will be following in his father's footsteps in more than one respect," He said slightly menacingly.

"We would be very honored if he did," Lucius cut in to the tense conversation. There was more talk and slightly more drinking before Narcissa felt truly uncomfortable.

"May I see him?" Narcissa gulped in some air as quietly as she could, she had no idea if she was ready to give Him the privilege of touching her baby. As if Draco sensed his mother's discomfort he started bawling and screaming like only babies could.

"I am so sorry, I should take him upstairs and feed him and put him to bed," Narcissa said bowing her head walking away before anyone had a chance to disagree.

"Thank you my beautiful baby boy. Thank you so much. I love you Draco, more than you will ever know," Narcissa whispered to Draco, kissing his head, "More than you will ever know."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Heyo everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter because I know I did! Anyway, I hope you wholeheartedly enjoy this new chapter. Love!

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><p>Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all. ~Emily Dickinson<p>

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><p>It was nearly an hour until the low voices stopped and He left, then Lucius finally came back upstairs.<p>

"Narcissa, are you asleep?"

"No, I am in Draco's room. Come in please," even a fool could notice the icy chill in Narcissa's voice and fortunately Lucius was not a fool.

"Narcissa what's wrong?" he asked with a gentle voice coming into the nursery.

"'What's wrong?'" she hissed quietly, she didn't want to wake her baby who had just fallen asleep in her arm, "What's wrong is that our son is not even a month old and you are already offering up his life."

"You should be proud, honored in fact, for our son to have a chance to serve Him."

"You disgust me. I would never be proud to have my son put into imminent danger. I want a better life for my child."

"Soon, there will be no other life for Draco. When he grows up he will want this for himself, and he will be honored to be a part of something so great."

"Lucius," she growled, "I will never willingly let my son take part in such atrocities."

"Well, he is my son too and he will be a part of this. I do not see why it bothers you now; you had no problem knowing that I do this. Is our son's life so much more precious than my own?"

"I couldn't stop you from doing this and I love you so much that at the time it didn't matter to me. Our son has a choice, he was just born. You cannot condemn him to this life that we live."

"I am not condemning to anything. If you love me so much, you will listen to me. Our son WILL do this," his voice was bitter and with every word it got louder.

"Lucius, get out. I do not want to sleep in the same room with you tonight," her voice was hurt but also dripping with malice.

"You are my wife and this is my house. You will not order me around; you have no power or no right to do as such."

"Fine, you stay here. I'll leave," Narcissa stood up, grabbed some of Draco's things and exited the room, Lucius made no effort to stop her. Narcissa strode through the house until she found a bedroom that was far enough away from theirs. It was almost pure white room with just some emerald green accents. There was a fairly sized bed pressed up against one of the walls, and there was a small bassinet near it.

"Well, that's continent," Narcissa muttered placing Draco down. She wondered what this room was used for, if maybe Antonia ever had trouble with Abraxas and this was where she went. She stripped off her gown and cleaned off the remnants of her makeup. The bed was cold and strange to her, and she missed not feeling her husband at her side.

After nearly forty minutes of trying to go to sleep with no avail, she dragged the bassinet right next to the bed and put her arm in it and rested her hand on her baby's stomach. Draco only woke her up once that night, and it was because he was hungry. When the sunlight began streaming through the large window, Narcissa finally woke up. When she went to the dining room for breakfast, she found that Lucius wasn't there and he didn't leave his customary note.

This pattern continued on for nearly a year. The couple hardly ever spoke and when they did it was only about Draco or family business. Outside of their home they kept up appearances as a happy couple who had just had a child. Inside the home they ignored each other's presence and remained sleeping in separate rooms. Narcissa never let Draco stay with Lucius, and the only time Lucius ever saw his son was when their paths accidentally crossed.

It was the fourth of June, a day before Draco's first birthday, when the two started talking again. Narcissa was sitting in the informal sitting room playing with her son, and Lucius was working on something in his study nearby.

"Mama," a happy little voice came from her son.

"Oh my god, Draco, you said mama. Oh my god, Lucius! Lucius," Narcissa scooped Draco, who was trying to crawl away, up and walked with her squirming baby to her husband's study.

"Is Draco okay?" Lucius asked, that was the first thing that came to his mind because they hardly ever spoke anymore.

"He's fine; he just said his first word. He said 'mama,'" Narcissa said looking at her husband with happy tears in her eyes.

"That's wonderful, may I?" He asked looking at Draco and putting his arms out. It felt so strange that he needed to ask permission to hold his own child.

"Yes of course," Narcissa said placing Draco in Lucius's arms.

"I'm sorry," they both began at the same time, and then began to laugh. Lucius shifted Draco in his grasp, put one arm out, and pulled his wife into a warm embrace. Narcissa wished that everything would go back to normal, the way it was before the fight, but they needed to rebuild their relationship slowly.

"So, how have you been?" Lucius asked his wife that night at dinner. The question sounded so absurd coming from her husband that Narcissa couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I guess I have been doing well," Narcissa said stifling her giggles, "How about yourself?"

"I've been doing okay, I've been busy with work and other stuff, and I've missed you."

"I missed you too."

"I'm sorry I was such a bastard."

"It's really okay, but you really should not being saying stuff like that around Draco. I have no idea how much he picks up on, and I would hate for him to have such a limited range of vocabulary." They finished dinner with some more basic conversation, Narcissa was so glad they began talking again.

"Narcissa?"

"Yes, Lucius?" Narcissa had gathered up Draco and his things and was preparing to go to bed in her new bedroom.

"I was wondering if you would be willing…if you wanted to come and spend the night in our room, like we used to."

"Lucius," she began and then looked up into his eyes which were so full of regret and promise, "Of course I will." He smiled at his wife and kissed her on the head.

"I'm going to put Draco to bed, I will see you in a little bit," Narcissa said, walking away. Draco's room looked exactly the way it had the night of the fight, everything had remained clean and dusted properly so all Narcissa had to do was put Draco in his crib. Draco was relatively easy to put to bed, he hardly made any fuss. She left to change into her nightclothes and heard Lucius getting ready for bed.

Narcissa changed into a pale lavender negligee and walked back into the room, where Lucius was lying underneath the blankets. Narcissa slid under the covers and turned to face her husband.

"Goodnight Lucius," Narcissa whispered to her husband.

"Goodnight Narcissa," Lucius put his arm on his wife's waist and pulled her into a hug, kissing her temple. She twisted in his grasp so she was lying in her customary sleeping position, she back pressed up against his stomach and his arms were wrapped around her torso.

The next morning Narcissa felt refreshed and happy, waking up in her husband's arms.

"Good morning love," Narcissa said as she rolled over and she kissed her husband's nose, "Oh my goodness! I almost forgot what today was."

"What's today," Lucius asked groggily.

"It's Draco's first birthday, our baby is one!" Narcissa sprang out of bed and almost bounded to the door of Draco's nursery and opened the door. Much to her surprise she saw Draco sitting on the floor playing with one of his toys.

"Mama!" he exclaimed when he saw her, "Mama play!"

"Lucius, what is Draco doing on the floor? Did you let him out in the middle of the night?"

"No, why would I do…" he stopped short when he saw his son on the floor, "What is he doing on the floor?"

"That was exactly my question, are you sure that you have nothing to do with this?"

"I'm completely sure."

"Draco, come here. Come to your mother," Narcissa said kneeling down and putting her arms out to her son. He came over, holding the furniture so he wouldn't fall, on wobbly legs. Narcissa wrapped her arms around him and yanked him off of the ground; she backed out of the room and shut the door.

"Do you think that he possibly could have just gotten himself out of the crib? He is starting to learn how to walk, so maybe he climbed out."

"I'm sure that's what happened," Lucius said. He pulled his wife against him and kissed his son's head.

"Mama! Mama play?"

"Yes baby, your mama will play with you. Let's go downstairs first, okay baby?" Narcissa was still a little bit worried but she tried not to let it show, and just played with Draco instead. There was a small family celebration later that evening, with Antonia and Abraxas, who looked worse than he had the last time Narcissa saw him.

The rest of the summer and most of the fall passed without incident. Draco learned more words and could almost string an entire sentence together and began walking everywhere and getting into everything. Lucius and Narcissa repaired their relationship and were back to normal. Everything was going very well for the small family.

It was October 31st and Narcissa was running all around the manor preparing things for the evening's festivities. For the first time in a very long time, the Malfoy's were having a social gathering a very large one in fact. It was going to be a very grand masquerade ball and everyone who was anyone was going to be in attendance, that is, except for Lucius.

"What do you mean you aren't going to be in attendance?" Narcissa asked that evening as she was fixing up her hair. She had already gotten in her dress, a black off the shoulder ball gown that had a corset back and was accented in gold, and was just finishing her hair and makeup.

"There is somewhere I need to be tonight, somewhere He needs me to be. He is doing something tonight and needs me near, just in case."

"Fine, I hope you enjoy yourself. I'll make up some sort of excuse that you are sick or something, have a good evening," Narcissa brushed past her husband and blatantly ignored the outstretched arms that were for her.

"Millie," she called for the house elf, "Come here, now."

"Yes mistress?"

"Is Draco ready? Have you bathed and dressed him yet?"

"Yes, he is ready. He is in his room waiting for you."

"Thank you very much, Millie." Narcissa swept from the room, her skirt sweeping the floor as she left.

"Draco, come out here now. Come see your mother," Narcissa ordered from the hallway.

"I coming mama!" She heard her son's angelic voice come from his room. He toddled out, taking little fast steps to his mother.

"Hey baby," Narcissa cooed, wrapping her arms around her baby. It really was a wonder that he learned to walk, because Narcissa always carried Draco around everywhere she went.

"Are you excited for the party?"

"No, I wanna go bed," Draco said burrowing his head in his mother's neck.

"Well, too bad. You need to make an appearance at this party, especially because your father will not be there. Also, it will be the first time anyone has seen you, so you need to make a great first impression."

The party was relatively boring and Narcissa couldn't wait until it was over and she could lay down in her bed and go to sleep. The endless stream of "Where is your husband?" questions were getting rather tiresome.

"Narcissa, you look lovely. Would you like to dance?" she heard a smooth voice from behind her. To her horror it was her sister's husband, Rudolphus Lestrange, asking her to dance.

"Rudolphus, a pleasure to see you, I am actually taking care of Draco right now so while I would love to…" she trailed off, thanking everything that she knew that she had her son as an excuse. Narcissa turned back around and began walking away when she heard a wince from Rudolphus.

"Are you okay?" Narcissa asked whipping back around and shifting Draco around so she could help Rudolphus into another room.

"What's wrong?"

"I have no idea, my arm; it feels like it is on fire."

"Let me see your arm," Narcissa said and Rudolphus stuck his left arm out, "Of course," Narcissa muttered. She rolled back his sleeve to inspect his arm.

"Rudolphus, it's gone."

"What's gone the dark mark?"

"Well, not exactly gone, but so faded that I can hardly see anything except for the outline. Isn't it normally black and writhing around?"

"Yes, let me see it," Rudolphus sat up looked at his arm, "What?"

"What does this mean?"

"I have no idea, is Lucius here?"

"No, he is out. I have just told everyone he is sick because he was doing something for the Dark Lord."

"I hope he comes back soon, so we can make sense of this."

"I need to go back out to the party, or people will talk." Narcissa stood up and secured Draco in her arms. As she made her way into the grand ballroom she saw Millie disappear with someone, someone who looked a lot like Lucius.

"May I have everyone's attention?" Narcissa called out, "I am sorry to cut the party short, but Draco isn't feeling very well so I need to devote my attention to him. I hope everyone had a wonderful night, and I hope to see you all very soon." With that Narcissa turned and walked up the stairs, the train of her skirt sweeping the floor.

"Lucius, what happened?" she said seeing her husband covered in soot, she set Draco down and rushed toward him.

"He's gone."

"Who is gone, Lucius? What are you talking about?" Narcissa said dusting some of the soot from his face off with the back of her hand.

"The Dark Lord is dead."

"What happened?" Narcissa tried to hide the elation from her voice; she knew that Lucius was probably hurting. Lucius went on to explain why He went to Godric's Hollow and what happened. How He was such a coward and tried to kill a baby and that baby was His very downfall. Of course, Narcissa's thoughts were paraphrasing the things he said, but that didn't matter.

That night after she cleaned Lucius up and him to bed, and Draco was tucked in and sleeping Narcissa sat in her study contemplating what would be her new life. She knew that the ministry would probably be after Lucius, that someone panicked and went to them, but now that didn't matter. It took nearly ten years to be rid of this menace in her life, her family was finally safe. For the first time in almost three years, she poured herself a glass of wine and silently toasted Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Dear god everyone, I feel like the worst person in the history of forever. I wish I could say that there was some reason for my sudden stoppage of writing but I really just lost all feeling of being able to write this story. The funny thing was that I was at the Huston airport waiting for my flight and I decided to just go look at my story because I was already reading Lucissa fics. I ended up reading all of the comments that my story had and I kid you not, I started crying in the middle of the airport. I remember how good all of those comments made me feel and they made me feel good there too. So, for all of you beautiful and wonderful people who commented and who read my story I'm going to take it back up again. I can't promise that I will be consistent but I can promise you that there will be updates. I owe you all so much and I have so much love for all of you. Because I'm getting back into the swing of writing things, you'll have to bear with me. This chapter is going to be a series of little parts over the next few years. Some will be fluff and some could be sad but it's all going to lead up to little Draco's 11th birthday. Again, thank you all and so much love. Without you all my words mean nothing, and god it's good to be back. I have a quote for you and a quote for my story.

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><p>The thrill of coming home has never changed.<p>

~Guy Pearce

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><p>Missing you is my hobby, caring for you is my job, make you happy is my duty, and loving you is my life.<p>

~Unknown

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><p>Life without the Dark Lord gone was more joyful than Narcissa could have possibly imagined. Lucius was home much more often now that he just worked regular hours at the Ministry, they were practically the family that she had always wanted. There were still problems of course, but it was easy to sweep those under the rug and let the outside world view them as perfect. One day, Narcissa's birthday to be exact, Lucius was late. So late, in fact, that she gave up on waiting for him for dinner and instead of a romantic candlelit evening with her husband, Narcissa ended up eating her birthday dinner with a particularly temperamental Draco. Everything had turned so sour, in fact, that Narcissa wasn't even willing to listen to Lucius' explanations.<p>

"I was busy, you know how work-"

"Oh yes, I'm sure that you have such a hard time. What is it again that you actually do?" She covered his voice with her own snappy tone. "Meanwhile, I've been taking care of our son and our home and I spent my birthday practically alone."

"I really don't need this right now. Your present is on the table, I'm going to bed. Feel free to join me if you wish."

Lucius' frosty tone was enough to make her feel guilty, but then she remembered that he completely missed her birthday and the hot anger melted the guilt away. That didn't stop Narcissa from going to the table and unwrapping the ornate looking gift. It was some beautiful diamond bracelet, easily forgettable and not at all special. Her husband had really outdone himself this year. After checking on Draco, she considered going to the room that she spent nearly a year in but the craving to be by her husband's side was too strong to ignore. In the morning, Lucius apologised for being such an arse and everything was going as normal but there was still some suspicion that there was something that he wasn't telling her and Lucius started spending later nights at work to the point where he hardly ever saw his wife or son.

The truth came out the eve before Draco's ninth Christmas.

"What do you mean 'The Minister for Magic is in your pocket'?"

"I mean that I've spent a very long time ensuring that I'll get favour in the things I want to happen in our government and all it took was a little bit of gold. Everything is going to be fine now, I swear."

"Right, and will everything be fine if someone finds out?"

"Trust me, love, no one is going to find out. Let's just finish getting Draco's presents ready for tomorrow."

Narcissa sniffed disdainfully, "You say that as if I haven't been on top of it all. I learned that lately nothing will happen if I wait around for you."

"I'm sorry, Narcissa, and I swear things will be different from now on."

The rest of the holiday season passed without any incident, and it was actually enjoyable for everyone. Lucius kept his word, things were much different. He was always on time for dinner and basically stopped shouting at everyone, other than the house-elves of course. Things were also different in the respects that the Malfoy's were back to throwing lavish dinner parties and balls that only the most important witches and wizards attended.

At one of these parties, Narcissa was surprised and pleased to see a very familiar face.

"Sev! You haven't been by in so long, I've missed you," she nearly shouted when she saw him, forgetting all propriety as she ran across the foyer to hug her dearest friend.

"You know that I've been busy when it comes to work, Cissa, but it's good to see you too," an uncharacteristic smile crossed the sallow face of the young teacher.

"That's right! You're the potions master now," Narcissa laughed as she remembered the face of the young boy to whom she befriended right away. He seemed so much happier then. "So tell me, Sev, any lucky ladies in your life lately?"

"Draco is growing up so well," Severus tried to smoothly change the subject, but of course Narcissa caught it. She was just too good of a friend to mention anything.

"He really is. Incredibly handsome."

"Well, he must get that from his godfather," Sev joked.

"Obviously, but don't tell his father that."

"My lips are sealed. I can't believe that he'll be attending Hogwarts soon."

"Trust me, Severus, neither can I. Sometimes it makes me feel so old. But enough about that, would you care to join us this weekend? We're going to Diagon Alley to get all of Draco's school-things."

"As much as I would love to, Cissa, unfortunately I'm busy."

"Shame, somehow we'll get on without you." At that moment, Narcissa saw her husband beckoning towards her. He was standing next to a witch and wizard she had never seen before. Figuring they were important people in some other country, she pecked her oldest friend's cheek before going to meet them.

"Hello, my name is Narcissa Malfoy. Welcome to our home."

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><p>AN: Wow that felt really good to write. I'm crying just a little bit right now. Like I said, it will take me a bit to get back into the swing of things but I'll be picking up the next chapter with the Malfoy's going to Diagon Alley. If you read this, thank you. I'm so glad to be back.


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